Spring 2008 - Yosemite Conservancy

A JOURNAL FOR MEMBERS OF THE YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION Spring 2008 | Volume 70 | Number 2 

Following Yosemite’s 

Wild and Scenic 

Rivers

Cover: 

Tuolumne River 

A Message from Yosemite 

Spring…As I drive across the San Joaquin Valley toward Yosemite the new grass is neon green; tidy 

orchards seem to float in a sea of delicate blossoms while stands of yellow mustard appear at the 

roadside like splashes from an artist’s brush. The land’s promise and richness is palpable. Arriving 

in Yosemite Valley to the roar of waterfalls, I am once again struck with the power of the promise of 

spring. It reflects the way I feel about the new energy and direction at the Yosemite Association. 

The Association is, as always, dedicated to connecting people to the park. The thread begins with information 

you obtain from us to plan a visit, then moves to inspiring Association adventures (from artistic to athletic) 

you can join while you are here, and on to books, maps, inspirational art and literature from our stores 

to bring the experience alive again once you return home. Then, hopefully, there is the second and third visit 

with friends and family, building a lifetime of deepening connections to the park. 

Each experience at Yosemite can take your relationship with this dramatic landscape 

to a new place. This enduring connection is the gift of Association membership. 

Even as the Association strengthens longstanding connections to the park, we are in 

the process of stretching beyond this comfort zone. Together with the National Park 

Service, we are developing innovative ways to connect with people who may not yet 

have national parks as part of their tradition. 

The Association-NPS Yosemite Leadership Program at the University of California, 

Merced is one important example of this direction. This college intern program, now 

four years old, will bring ten students to the park for the 2008 summer months to be 

trained as seasonal rangers. These students offer language skills and experience that give an added dimension 

to resources management and interpretive programs for foreign and domestic visitors. It also gives us an 

opportunity to learn from those we are training about the best ways to reach multi-ethnic populations in the 

Central Valley and beyond. 

You, our members and donors, have made this program possible through your membership and special 

donations. Now that we have developed a track record for the program, we have been able, with the help of 

the Park Service, to leverage your gifts to new heights. Toyota Corporation has committed to an ongoing 

annual substantial contribution to the Yosemite Leadership Program. These funds will allow us to continue to 

teach and learn from young people who are part of the UC system’s most diverse campus. 

We will continue to ask to you to partner with us as we develop offerings tailored to new groups. Our 

hope is to introduce the park to a broader audience and demonstrate its importance to the natural world, our 

human spirit and well-being. We need as large a constituency as possible to preserve Yosemite and all of our 

national parks. Working together we will keep the Association’s promise to forge vital connections to the park 

in a changing world. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF 

JEN NERSESSIAN 

Christy Holloway, 

Chair, Board of Trustees 

2

BY KRISTINA RYLANDS 

FOLLOWING YOSEMITE’S WILD 

AND SCENIC RIVERS 

Quick: Think of a Yosemite icon. Do you have one 

in mind Did you pick Yosemite Falls Maybe 

Half Dome or El Capitan Those are some obvious 

choices. But Yosemite National Park is home to two 

icons that are equally central to the park’s identity. Before 

there was a Half Dome or a Cathedral Peak, for the millennia 

when those iconic features were deep beneath a 

primordial sea floor, there was the river. 

Actually, rivers. Yosemite is home to two wild and 

scenic rivers, each with headwaters surrounded by federally 

protected wilderness. The park’s northern watershed 

drains into the Tuolumne, designated by Congress as a 

wild and scenic river in 1984. The Merced was designated 

in 1987 and contains the park’s southern watershed. Both 

of these tremendous waterways bisect Yosemite National 

Park over some 140 miles from the Sierra crest to the 

Sierra foothills. 

THE TUOLUMNE 

As seen from Tuolumne Meadows, the Tuolumne appears 

a peaceful sleeper of a river, meandering quietly through 

its meadow channel or sweeping in shallows over the 

granite river bottom. It spills forth from two mighty 

forks—the Dana and the Lyell. 

Between the shoulders of Mount Dana and Mount 

Gibbs, the Dana Fork emerges into Dana Meadows 

almost imperceptibly. It then careens along the Tioga 

Road, heralding the arrival to Tuolumne Meadows. The 

Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne is superlative in every way. 

It originates on Mount Lyell, Yosemite’s highest peak at 

13,114 feet in elevation. The mountain contains one of 

the Sierra’s last remaining glaciers, the Lyell Glacier. Here, 

the Lyell Fork starts as a trickle that can be straddled in 

places, flows into glacial pools and over granite benches 

and finally slows to a near crawl in Lyell Canyon as the 

river meanders through meadow bends punctuated by 

chutes and riffles. 

The forks meet in Tuolumne Meadows for a last 

gentle pass before plunging over a series of stair-step 

cascades to Glen Aulin and on to the Grand Canyon of 

the Tuolumne River and the Muir Gorge. From lush Pate 

Valley, the Tuolumne continues for trail-free miles to 

the mouth of Hetch Hetchy. Here, the congressionally 

designated portion of river corridor is interrupted, 

exempt from wild and scenic river status due to the 

impoundment created by O’Shaughnessy Dam. However, 

the wild and scenic river continues below the dam and 

through the Poopenaut Valley and slot canyons that few 

It takes an interdisciplinary team to create a long-term plan for managing a wild and scenic river. Here members of Yosemite’s Tuolumne 

planning team explore the river just above Glen Aulin. 

KRISTINA RYLANDS 

YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION, SPRING 2008 

3

and Scenic River continues through an incised river canyon 

to its impoundment at Lake Maclure, where its status 

as a wild and scenic river ends. Beyond, it too joins the 

San Joaquin River in Merced County. 

The Tuolumne River is wild and free flowing, even as it enters 

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Its wild and scenic river designation is 

interrupted here, but resumes directly below O’Shaughnessy Dam. 

are fortunate enough to visit. 

Beyond Yosemite’s borders, the Tuolumne River flows 

through lands managed by both the U.S. Forest Service 

and the Bureau of Land Management, its wild and scenic 

status coming to an end at Lake Don Pedro. But the river 

continues itself for miles, eventually reaching its confluence 

with the San Joaquin River just outside of Modesto. 

THE MERCED 

Like the Tuolumne, the Merced also originates from 

Mount Lyell, but off of its southern shoulder. The Lyell 

Fork of the Merced River is joined by three other primary 

forks—Triple Peak Fork, Red Peak Fork and Merced 

Peak Fork. These portions flow through a wild and 

largely trail-free landscape, eventually passing through 

Washburn Lake, Merced Lake and Little Yosemite Valley. 

Some of the Merced’s most iconic views can be seen as 

the river plunges over Nevada Fall and then Vernal Fall 

before its riotous springtime cascade into Happy Isles at 

the eastern end of Yosemite Valley. 

The main stem of the Merced River takes center 

stage in Yosemite Valley as it welcomes the waters of its 

more iconic tributaries—Tenaya Creek and Mirror Lake, 

Yosemite Falls, Sentinel Falls, Bridalveil Fall, Ribbon 

Fall and the Cascades. Ultimately, the Merced plunges 

through a gorge, descending some 2,000 feet over seven 

miles before leaving the park at the boundary of El Portal. 

At the southern end of the park, the South Fork of the 

Merced River emerges from southern wilderness and into 

the sleepy hollow of Wawona. This portion of the river 

joins the main stem on U.S. Forest Service land along 

Highway 140 at Savage’s Trading Post. The Merced Wild 

KRISTINA RYLANDS (2) 

WHAT IS A WILD AND SCENIC RIVER 

In the early 1960s, it was recognized that the nation’s 

rivers were being dammed, dredged, and degraded at 

an alarming rate. In response, Senator Frank Church 

of Idaho championed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 

until it was signed into law in 1968 by President Lyndon 

Johnson. This landmark piece of legislation acknowledges 

that free-flowing rivers and their unique natural, cultural 

and recreational values are a central part of our nation’s 

heritage and should be preserved for future generations. 

Today, 165 rivers have been designated, protecting over 

11,000 miles of river from Alaska to Puerto Rico, and 

Maine to Oregon. 

Prior to congressional designation, a river must be 

determined eligible and then suitable for wild and scenic 

river status. The process starts with an eligibility study to 

determine if the river can meet two key qualifications: 

1) Is the river largely free-flowing and 2) Does it possess 

what the Act terms “outstandingly remarkable values” 

These are the unique, rare or exemplary qualities that 

make the river stand apart from all others in the region or 

nation. (To be eligible for wild and scenic status, a river 

only needs to possess one such outstandingly remarkable 

value and be largely free-flowing.) Next, the river goes 

through a suitability study to determine if the Wild and 

Scenic Rivers Act is the most suitable way to protect the 

river. Once these two studies are completed, Congress can 

act to designate a river by adding it to the wild and scenic 

river system. 

Far from putting rivers behind velvet ropes, the Wild 

and Scenic Rivers Act is meant to allow people to continue 

The Tuolumne River meanders through a glacially carved, 

snowcapped landscape. The Tuolumne was instrumental in 

creating this unique and magnificent scenery. 

4 YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION, SPRING 2008

Nevada Fall is one of the most unique features of the Merced River. 


5 

JR WARNER, COURTESY KRISTINA RYLANDS

GET INVOLVED! 

For more information about Wild and Scenic River planning in Yosemite National Park, please visit the following 

web sites for the most current information about upcoming planning workshops and materials for review and 

comment. Also, please feel free to contact the Project 

Mangers for either effort. If you would like to receive 

their periodic e-newsletter, please email yose_planning@nps.gov 

and ask to join the mailing list. 

New Merced River Plan 

http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/newmrp.htm 

Elexis Mayer, Project Manager 

(209) 379-1377 

elexis_mayer@nps.gov 

Tuolumne River Plan/Tuolumne Meadows Plan 

http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/trp.htm 

Kristina Rylands, Project Manager 

(209) 379-1175 

kristina_rylands@nps.gov 

South fork of the Merced River in Wawona. 

ROBIN WEISS 

To learn more about the National Wild and Scenic 

Rivers System, visit www.rivers.gov 

forging connections to rivers. Once designated, the law 

calls for permanent protection and enhancement of the 

river’s free-flowing character, water quality and unique 

values. October 2, 2008, marks the fortieth anniversary of 

the passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. 

THE LAW AND THE PLAN 

While the law protects wild rivers, it is up to the 

managing agency to put a plan in place that spells 

out how the river will be preserved. In 1986, Congress 

amended the Act to require land managers to develop 

a comprehensive management plan to guide future 

actions in the river corridor. 

Currently, the National Park Service is preparing 

individual management plans for both the Merced and 

Tuolumne Wild and Scenic Rivers in Yosemite National 

Park. As a central part of these planning efforts, the 

National Park Service welcomes public participation 

through all facets of the plans’ development. Through a 

series of PLANNER-FOR-A-DAY public workshops, participants 

engage in many of the milestone steps taken by 

the NPS planning teams. For example, one of the primary 

and foundational steps involved in managing the river is 

asking the following questions: “what are the characteristics 

that are truly special about the river” and “what do 

we envision them to be like in the future” This process— 

known as establishing desired future conditions—creates 

the management vision and is the proactive planning 

piece from which all other actions and decisions are based 

and measured. This is just one aspect of the process that 

park planners have opened to the public for input and 

involvement. 

Both the Tuolumne River Plan and the Merced River 

Plan will be accompanied by an environmental impact 

statement to analyze the effects of a range of management 

scenarios. These draft documents will be available for 

public comment in 2009. But this summer, the NPS will 

give the public a chance to review and comment on early 

versions of several river management plans. 

Kristina Rylands has spent nearly ten years working 

for the National Park Service in Yosemite on 

wild and scenic river issues and also serves as the 

president of the River Management Society’s Pacific 

Chapter. She fell in love with Yosemite along the 

Tuolumne River as a kid 35 years ago. 


BY JUN KINOSHITA 

A LEGACY OF FIRE 

LOOKING BACK TO LOOK FORWARD IN YOSEMITE VALLEY 

The landscape that awed early Euro-American visitors 

to Yosemite Valley was, and is, remarkable for 

a natural beauty seen nowhere else on earth. But 

as wild as that landscape looked, its untouched appearance 

was deceptive. Humans had used fire to manage the 

vegetation of the Valley for hundreds if not thousands of 

years. The open vistas onto El Capitan and Half Dome, 

the lush meadows, and the rich American Indian culture 

early Euro-American visitors encountered, were the 

result of a naturally fire-adapted ecosystem harnessed for 

human benefit. 

All across North America, from the deep eastern forests, 

to the Midwest’s broad prairies, to the steep slopes 

of the Sierra Nevada, the first human inhabitants had 

observed the effects of natural lightning-caused fire. They 

watched closely as entire ecosystems first seemed to succumb 

to the flames, then sprang back rejuvenated. Over 

time, these first peoples learned to harness the power of 

fire to shape the landscapes in which they lived. Historic 

accounts suggest that Native Americans lit wildland fires 

for many reasons: to herd game into elaborate traps, 

reduce opportunities for enemies to hide, encourage 

certain plants to grow, take away resources from enemies 

and cover retreats. While some of these effects were 

immediate, others suggest long-term planning and a deep 

understanding of complex ecosystems. Fires encouraged 

new growth the following season that would attract game, 

or straight growth in plant material used for baskets and 

tools. Fires set on a regular basis favored the growth of 

certain staple plant communities over others. 

A culture whose diet depended heavily on rich acorns 

would find advantage by encouraging oak growth in open 

meadows and reducing shade-tolerant species such as 

cedar and pine. Regular burning, they knew, would kill 

small, encroaching conifers and reduce the buildup of 

litter and duff that might fuel a hotter, more severe fire 

that could destroy oaks. For these reasons, cultural groups 

across North America, including the native inhabitants of 

Yosemite Valley, developed a knowledge base delineating 

when to burn, where to ignite and what effects fire might 

have on a given plant community. This information was 

the result of hundreds of years of observation intertwined 

into cultural traditions and practices, and passed down 

through the generations. 

The arrival of Spanish explorers into California, and 

then other Euro-Americans in the Yosemite region, 

challenged these cultural traditions. Diseases that raced 

BRENT JOHNSON, NPS 

ahead of actual contact decimated populations, changing 

cultural practices. After Euro-American contact, Native 

American lifeways were fundamentally altered. Efforts to 

protect the beauty of Yosemite Valley and other areas led 

to the suppression of all wildland fire. Later, as large tracts 

of land were set aside as preserves and national parks, the 

role of fire in ecosystems came to be reexamined. 

By the middle of the twentieth century, land managers 

had begun to observe disturbing changes to their parks 

and forests. Fires were becoming more severe and harder 

to control. Certain species of trees were being crowded 

out or were not reproducing. Some critical element was 

missing, and that element was fire. Concern for public 

safety and other factors meant that land managers could 

not allow fire to run freely across the landscape. But it 

became clear that fire had been, and needed to be, a part 

of the ecosystem that shaped the beauty of the landscape. 

From that realization came the start of a complex fire 

management program that now utilizes a variety of tools 

and techniques to protect infrastructure and visitors 

while allowing fire to play as natural a role in the ecosys- 

Smoke from the prescribed burn curls up past Half Dome. 


7

Above left: Yosemite’s original human inhabitants regularly set fire to the Valley floor to encourage the growth of grasses and oaks. Here, 

their descendants use traditional methods to ignite a prescribed burn. Above right: Park staff monitor the progress of the prescribed burn. 

tem as possible. Those tools have expanded to include not 

only fire suppression, but fuels reduction and management 

of naturally-ignited fires. 

Fuels reduction can be accomplished in a variety of 

ways. One method involves mechanically cutting up 

brush, trees and downed logs, and either piling them 

for burning or hauling them away. This technique can 

reduce larger diameter fuels such as snags and downed 

logs, but does not reduce levels of duff and smaller forms 

of forest litter that have accumulated. Prescribed fire can 

reduce fuels of all sizes but is a much riskier practice. 

There is always the danger of a fire escaping planned 

boundaries, while the resulting smoke can be a nuisance 

or health threat. Before land managers burn, they develop 

a prescribed burn plan based on a prescription: a set of 

weather, fuel and resource parameters that are aimed at 

achieving a particular goal. 

All of this is made more complicated by fuels that have 

accumulated over the past hundred years of successful fire 

suppression. Fire introduced to such fuel-loaded landscapes 

has the potential to burn too hot or for too long, 

damaging the ecosystem’s ability to rejuvenate. While 

early fire managers worried over how to put fires out, 

determining which land management objectives are most 

important and how to meet them are two of the most difficult 

challenges that fire managers face today. 

In the fall of 2005, the National Park Service conducted 

a prescribed burn in a thirteen-acre wetland 

meadow in Yosemite Valley. Like much of Yosemite Valley, 

the meadow historically had been managed and used by 

American Indians. These resources are still used by the 

descendants of the Valley’s original inhabitants as well 

as the Park’s Indian Cultural Demonstration Program. 

A century and a half of fire suppression, however, had 

allowed thatch to accumulate, invasive Himalayan 

blackberry to spread into the meadow, and conifers to 

encroach. The presence of an old road and its culvert further 

accelerated these changes by disrupting the natural 

flow of water through the area. The compounded effect 

of changes to the natural fire regime and the altered 

hydrology of the site threatened populations of traditionally 

gathered plants, and posed a complex restoration 

challenge. 

The National Park Service coordinated with other 

park partners, including the Yosemite Fund, Yosemite 

Institute and local Native American tribes, to put together 

a long-term restoration and research effort addressing 

many of these concerns. Although the meadow was once 

maintained by regular burning, fire alone was no longer 

enough to restore the area with native plants. Scientific 

literature reports that Himalayan blackberry will resprout 

vigorously after burning, which in turn suggested that 

removing the blackberry first was imperative. To determine 

which approach would be most effective, park staff 

and volunteers pulled the blackberry before the burn in 

some areas and simply burned it in others. The study 

would also track the response of traditionally gathered 

plants to the different treatments. 

The Park Service invited tribes having ancestral 

cultural associations with park lands to participate in 

the prescribed burn. The fire was lit using a traditional 

friction method as representatives of the tribes offered 

prayers and songs. The igniter rapidly rolled a pointed 

stick between his hands with the point pressed firmly into 

a plank of wood. When the heat had built sufficiently, the 

stick tip was used to ignite a wad of shredded cedar bark 


used as tinder. Burning sticks and pine cones were used 

to spread the fire through the burn unit instead of a mixture 

of diesel and gasoline in a drip torch. This manner of 

ignition also kept hydrocarbon contaminants out of the 

wetland. 

The National Park Service made a short film documenting 

the cooperation involved in arranging and 

conducting the burn and its subsequent ecological and 

cultural effects. This video has been used to educate the 

public, park staff and researchers, illustrating the positive 

effects of this cooperation. 

Ultimately, the project reduced accumulated fuels 

in the form of thatch and litter, and killed many of the 

encroaching conifers. The burn also reduced the chance 

of a catastrophic fire in Yosemite Valley and increased the 

Park Service’s ability to control unwanted fires. As part 

of a mosaic of Valley burns of differing ages, the meadow 

will act as a fuel break to slow the spread of unwanted 

wildfires, and increase the health of surviving native 

vegetation by reducing competition for water, nutrients 

and sunlight. Opening up the meadow is a step towards 

restoring historic viewsheds and the character of the 

historic landscape which drew Euro-American visitors to 

Yosemite in the first place. 

The prescribed burn also diminished patches of 

invasive blackberry, permitting ongoing management 

with mechanical thinning. Pulling sprouts after burning 

affords several advantages, including improved visibility 

of the root and less need to pile and burn cut brambles. 

The 2006 data from the research plots suggests that 

mechanical removal and fire resulted in more native and 

non-native plant species than burning alone. While the 

increase of non-native plant cover is of concern, the species 

present are easier to control than blackberry. Finally, 

plants that were identified as traditionally important have 

been rebounding. Data gathered in subsequent years will 

add to our understanding of how resources were traditionally 

managed, and how these techniques may be integrated 

with current management practices. 

Other aspects of burn success were harder to measure 

but are equally important to recognize. The project leaders 

hope that the project succeeded in honoring the traditions 

and history of the American Indians. One tribal 

elder, a retired NPS employee who served as burn boss 

on some of the earliest prescribed fires in Yosemite Valley, 

found it rewarding to burn again in Yosemite Valley, this 

time as a continuation of traditional cultural practices. 

Fire Management personnel got to participate in traditional 

fire management practices, and proposed that the 

park attempt to include some form of these traditional 

practices each fire season. Meanwhile, the Park Service 

will continue to document the burn’s long-term impacts 

on the health of the meadow and the return of traditionally 

important plants. As part of scheduled restoration, 

BRENT JOHNSON, NPS (3) 

the restrooms and part of the road to the defunct campground 

were removed shortly after the burn. It is hoped 

that the removal of this infrastructure will allow a more 

natural hydrology to return to the meadow. Finally, the 

cooperation and contributions of all involved instilled 

the hope that the sometimes daunting mission of the 

National Park Service can be fulfilled one small meadow 

at a time. 

Jun Kinoshita is the Park Fire Archeologist and works 

in the Branch of Anthropology and Archeology in the 

Division of Resources Management and Science for the 

National Park Service. 

Careful planning and a fuel break prevent the prescribed burn 

from spreading farther than desired. 


9

YOSEMITE ILLUSIONS 

BY RICHARD G. BEIDLEMAN 

COURTESY RICHARD BEIDLEMAN 

Sixty years have now flown by since I commenced 

my fondly-anticipated career with the National 

Park Service. In June of 1948, complete with my 

new Stetson hat and NPS belt, I debuted as a novice summer 

ranger-naturalist at Yosemite National Park—my 

dream choice! Special memories still linger, one in particular 

which would define my life’s pursuit. 

Soon after arriving in the park, our small cadre of naturalists 

embarked on a weeklong field orientation by notable 

veteran ranger-naturalist Carl Sharsmith. As we were 

seated around our kneeling mentor along a Yosemite 

Valley trail, an inquisitive female visitor paused beside our 

circle. She stood there absorbing information as she slowly 

peeled an orange, dropping the peelings one by one while 

she listened. Never looking up at her and without missing 

a word, Sharsmith picked up each peel as it hit the ground, 

closing it in his hand. When the last peel fell, he stood 

up, opened the woman’s hand, pressed the rinds into her 

palm, closed her fist and continued his interpretive lesson. 

In good time I was sent to observe one of the senior 

naturalists giving a slide lecture at a lodge. In these days 

The author as a newly minted Yosemite ranger in June of 1948. 

before the slide carousel, the projector was operated by a 

bellboy. To change slides, the speaker, standing beside the 

portable screen, would punch his noisemaking “cricket” 

and the bellboy would move the next slide into the projector. 

The lecture progressed smoothly until the bellboy 

became distracted by an attractive young lady, and, missing 

a “crick,” didn’t move to the next slide. Unable to see 

the screen, the naturalist rambled on without realizing 

that every picture was now being misidentified: Half 

Dome became Yosemite Falls, and so on. His lecture was, 

for me as an intern, indeed a learning experience. 

Meanwhile, my outdoor evening lecture performances 

before hundreds of campers represented a multifaceted 

challenge. First I was to announce thirty minutes of 

recorded classical music, a tradition that had come from 

National Capitol Parks in Washington. If I mispronounced 

a foreign composer’s name, my supervisor made me 

announce it again correctly. Then ensued fifteen minutes 

of community singing, with words projected on the screen 

and I conducting and vocalizing. It was embarrassing to 

ask beforehand if anybody in the audience could play the 

piano, and worse if an amateur accompanist from some 

obscure church choir volunteered. Last on the program 

was my slide talk, with the supervisor’s reminder that it 

had to finish at exactly the moment the famous firefall 

from Glacier Point commenced. One fellow novice naturalist 

once ignored this admonition; as the entire audience 

stood and moved to view the firefall, he obstinately 

continued his illustrated lecture to its bitter end. 

I was definitely developing interpretive techniques. 

The naturalists often presented informal talks near the 

Yosemite Museum, especially on the Yosemite Indians. 

But on one occasion I decided to talk instead about porcupines, 

since there was a porcupine-scarred ponderosa 

pine under which we could stand in the shade. The small 

group of visitors was attentive as I chatted about interesting 

porcupine tidbits and continually brushed flakes of 

bark from my uniform. I’d picked this spot on purpose 

for the observant audience. Sad to say, no one noticed 

that there was a live porcupine at work above their heads! 

Soon came experiences with government housing. My 

wife and I were visited at our NPS tent cabin in the valley 

by the superintendent’s wife, who gushed, “Oh, this is the 

same cabin that my husband and I lived in many years 

ago.” As we glanced about, we didn’t really need to be told 

that. Then there was the tent cabin we later occupied at 

Mariposa Grove, propped up on a steep hillside. Coming 

home after a wearing day answering questions at the 

museum, I found two elderly women sitting in our camp 


chairs in front of the cabin. When I pleasantly explained 

that this was employee housing, the ladies took umbrage, 

one growling that they had paid their taxes and expected 

to be housed. Our housing problem became more acute 

when a visiting friend’s stocky wife crashed through the 

rotting tent-cabin floor while we were eating supper, 

dropping about three feet to the ground beneath. When 

I telephoned headquarters in Yosemite Valley about the 

gaping hole in the floor, the person I spoke to asked, “Do 

you have a table” When I replied “Yes,” he said “Well, pull 

the table over the hole.” 

At Mariposa Grove, we ranger-naturalists would often 

take visitors on short nature rambles and make our party’s 

way without trails. On one such excursion my group 

of some twenty hikers encountered a boggy creek bottom 

we needed to cross. I solved the problem of keeping feet 

dry after spying a large, fallen sequoia which spanned the 

marsh. The top end of the tree was easy for everyone to 

scramble onto, and the trunk proved broad enough that 

we had no trouble navigating above the streamlet. It was 

then that I discovered a problem. We were now at the butt 

end of the fallen giant, and as I looked down, I realized 

that we were more than fifteen feet above the ground! 

Chagrined, I carefully turned the party around, and we 

retreated along the log the way we had come. 

In our Yosemite naturalist training we had been forewarned 

to remember that park visitors often felt out of 

their element, and we should be understanding. No day 

went by without encountering such situations. On one 

occasion I apprehended an elderly driver going the wrong 

way on the one-way road through the famous (but alas, 

no longer there) Tunnel Tree in Mariposa Grove. I asked, 

“Didn’t you see the one-way-only sign for this road” 

“Yes,” he drawled, “but the other sign said ‘To Fresno,’ and 

I didn’t want to go to Fresno.” 

During the lunch hour in Mariposa Grove one of us 

naturalists would occasionally walk up to Big Trees Lodge 

and chat with the visitors. I remember being on hand 

when there were excited shouts from the patio about an 

approaching black bear. One woman dashed to the sales 

counter, bought a camera, and rushed out to photograph 

the rambling bruin. Unfortunately, she forgot to put any 

film in the camera. Then there was the incident at the 

Glacier Point Hotel. A woman had just parked her car 

and was getting out when a hefty Jeffrey pine cone fell 

on the hood. Seeing a jaunty chickaree in the tree above, 

and spotting a nearby ranger (not me, by the way), the 

woman yelled at him, demanding immediate action. 

Before the ranger could respond, the squirrel cut another 

cone, this one striking the windshield. The situation was 

neatly solved by the ranger who, after sizing up matters 

with straight face, pointed out to the woman that her car 

was in a “no parking” zone. 

The transcendent moment in my early National Park 

Yosemite ranger and naturalist Carl Sharsmith with the author’s 

wife, Reba Beidleman, in 1976. Sharsmith had helped orient the 

author as a new park ranger. 

Service ranger-naturalist career came at the completion 

of that first summer in Yosemite. I received an invitation 

to the Superintendent’s office, and I anticipated that the 

plans for my professional future were unfolding. Having 

already looked forward to prized and permanent employment 

at Yosemite, my wife and I had brought with us 

to California, or put into storage in Colorado, all of our 

belongings. The superintendent jovially invited me to 

take a seat. He then proceeded with a cordial salutation: 

“Dick, we have enjoyed having you with us this summer.” 

After a pause, he continued, “What are you planning to 

do during the winter” 

Let it be reported that although I had never considered 

a teaching career, within a month of the superintendent’s 

thunderbolt I became a novice university professor in 

Colorado and would go on to pontificate at three institutions 

there before retirement in 1986. I did return to 

Yosemite for a second summer and have continued many 

of my NPS relationships directly or indirectly to the 

present day. By the way, the illusions of Yosemite never 

diminish. When touring through Tuolumne Meadows in 

mid-August of 1975, we passed a ranger walking beside 

the highway. “Stop the car!” my wife shouted. “That 

looked like Carl Sharsmith.” “It couldn’t be,” I replied. 

“He must be long gone by now.” Glancing into the rearview 

mirror, I only kept driving for less than ten seconds. 

It was indeed Sharsmith. Although officially retired for 

some years, he was now a special NPS savant, in his most 

favorite haunt, probably still picking up orange peels 

dropped by the latest generation of visitors. 

In addition to becoming a university instructor, 

ecologist Richard Beidleman has served as a summer 

ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park, a consultant 

for the National Park Service and chair of the 

Colorado State Parks Board. Many of his former students 

are now naturalists at parks across the country. 

COURTESY RICHARD BEIDLEMAN 


11

EDUCATION PROGRAMS 

BY PETE DEVINE 

UC Merced Interns Arrive in Yosemite 

YA and NPS will soon welcome another multicultural 

cadre of Yosemite Leadership Program Interns to the 

park for the summer. This year we’ll grow the program 

to include ten UC Merced student interns. I am pleased 

to play a larger role in the group’s May training. They’ll 

spend the summer learning with NPS Interpretation, 

Wilderness operations, and Wildlife Management. Look 

for these fine young people on the trail or by the campfire 

when you’re here. 

If YA members are interested in contributing to the 

support of this valuable program, we could truly use your 

help. Please consider earmarking your usual donation 

toward our interns. 

Outdoor Adventures 

We can hardly wait for summer and our own kind of 

“higher education.” Tuitions have been kept the same for 

the third year in a row and Yosemite has something to 

teach you. 

The roster includes some outstanding backpack trips 

led by guidebook author Suzanne Swedo, photographer 

John Senser, ranger Dick Ewart and botanist Steve 

Botti. There’s even a backpack trip to Glen Aulin just 

for women. For adventurers seeking a view, we’re holding 

one-day, one-night as well as easy two-night trips 

up to Half Dome. The incredibly fun Family Camping 

Jamborees will be held in Tuolumne Meadows in July 

again. Just bring your kids and your tent up to the cool 

high Sierra; we’ll take care of all the food, cooking and 

family activities. We are proud of our series of field seminars 

on the heritage of people of color in Yosemite and 

hope you’ll come to discover something you don’t know 

about our cultural history. Finally, a special course on 

writing children’s books led by author Michael Ross 

awaits up in Tuolumne. 

YA members will be visiting Yosemite’s sister parks 

in China next spring; look on our website for those 

details. And don’t forget that I love arranging Custom 

Adventures for people seeking something special for 

colleagues, family or friends. 

LEIF RUSSELL 

2008 FIELD SEMINARS SCHEDULE 

The full catalog of 2008 Outdoor Adventures can 

be found and downloaded from our website–it’s 

an easy way to send the information to interested 

friends and family. Additional details on each 

course plus instructor biographies can be found 

online as well on YA’s “Seminars” page. 

YOSEMITE 

ASSOCIATION 

PARTNERS WITH 

LEAVE NO TRACE 

To support the National Park Service in promoting 

sensitive use of Yosemite’s popular wilderness 

and frontcountry, we’ve joined with the nonprofit 

Leave No Trace, Inc. to help spread the word about 

the practices and philosophy of traveling gently on 

the land. Look in our bookstores for literature that 

addresses LNT issues. 

12 YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION, SPRING 2008 

DWIGHT GOEHRING

BY DAVID GUY 

ART CONNECTING PEOPLE 

TO YOSEMITE 

Yosemite has long been a playground and palette 

for artists. Some of the earliest works from 

Yosemite include sketches made by Thomas Ayres 

in 1855; the grand Thomas Hill paintings now seen in 

Sacramento’s Crocker Art Museum and the Oakland 

Museum of California; the moody Albert Bierstadt paintings 

that captured romantic sensibilities on the East 

Coast; and the Gunnar Widforss watercolors that grace 

The Ahwahnee Hotel. In more recent times, Yosemite 

has drawn artists such as Chiura Obata, whose watercolors 

and sumi ink on silk stretch the mind and soul; 

Ansel Adams, whose photographs are now synonymous 

with the park; and of course the artists of today, who 

come to Yosemite to work in every season of every year. 

No medium seems to capture the magic and spirit of 

Yosemite better than the views through an artist’s eyes. 

This March, the Yosemite Art and Education Center 

opened for another season to celebrate art and the powerful 

imagery associated with this special landscape. We 

hope that you will join us in Yosemite Valley to participate 

in the Center’s many scheduled activities. The Association 

continues to invite a broad array of artists to be the 

Center’s artist-in-residence for one week, where they live, 

eat and drink art by teaching their particular calling. Each 

resident will teach art classes that are free to the public 

and have the opportunity to display their art in the Center. 

In doing so, they help to inspire a deeper connection to 

Yosemite. We will also be offering receptions throughout 

the summer to both celebrate art in Yosemite and showcase 

the work of the artists-in-residence. With your help, 

we aspire to fully utilize the Center as a classroom, studio, 

gallery and gathering place to celebrate art in Yosemite. 

The Yosemite Art and Education Center gets a new sign. 

MICHELLE HANSEN 


13

Come to the Center to celebrate the park with YA’s 

free art classes for Yosemite visitors. Our NPS/DNC/YA 

facility is open through October and holds free programs 

six days a week. The full schedule of each week’s visiting 

artists (both new and familiar) can be found on the YA 

website. If you haven’t been to our building in Yosemite 

Village, this would be a terrific time to come by and take 

a free class, pick up art supplies or bring your family for 

one of our walk-in natural history hikes (for example, go 

birding with Pete Devine). The YAEC is located at thelower 

end of Yosemite Village, downhill from the Village 

Store, near the ATM. For further information about the 

Center, please call 209-372-1442. 

COURTESY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

An artist finds inspiration within a park forest. 

ART CENTER MOVES 

THROUGH HISTORY 

Yosemite artist-in-residence Moira Donohoe paints in the park. 

COURTESY MOIRA DONOHOE 

The Yosemite Art Center opened in the old 

Pohono Indian Shop in June of 1981. Located 

in what is now the Valley Wilderness Center, 

this building was originally erected as photographer 

Daniel Joseph Foley’s Yosemite Falls 

studio in 1926. Foley operated it until 1948, 

when it became the Pohono Indian Studio. The 

Association partnered with the Yosemite Park 

& Curry Company in 1981 to renovate the 

Pohono Indian Studio building as the Yosemite 

Art Activity Center. The Center offered free 

art and poetry classes for many years. The 

Center moved to its current location in the 

Wells Fargo Bank Building in May 1995, when 

it was occupied by Bank of America. This 

building was originally completed for Wells 

Fargo on April 23, 1971. It was designed by 

Spencer, Lee and Busse as a redwood building 

in the “Mother Lode Colonial” style. The main 

room houses the building’s most unique feature: 

a tremendous wooden mural by famed 

California artist Ruth Dicker (1919-2004). 


PARK PROFILE 

TOM MEDEMA 

RAY SANTOS 

Name: Tom Medema 

Job Title: Branch Chief, Interpretive Field Operations 

Hometown: Muskegon, MI 

Education: B.A. Environmental Education, Calvin 

College; M.S. Natural Resource Communication, 

Michigan State University 

Total number of years working in Yosemite: 6 

What first brought you to Yosemite A family vacation 

brought us close to Yosemite in the early 70s, but “hippie 

congestion” kept my parents away. It wasn’t until my 

National Park Service career began that I found my way 

back to California and Yosemite. 

What do you do in your job I manage the park’s personal 

interpretive services, including field rangers, visitor 

facilities and all interpretive programming. I am fortunate 

to supervise amazingly talented people who help 

visitors discover and personally connect with Yosemite’s 

resources. My primary job is to provide the resources and 

tools for these gifted naturalists, historians and storytellers 

to excel in their role of achieving the National Park 

Service mission. 

What do you enjoy most about your job Location, 

location, location. I have what must be the most spectacular 

commute on the planet. Many days I get to commute 

from El Portal to Yosemite Valley on my bicycle or motorcycle. 

To ride along the Merced River, past Bridalveil Fall, 

El Cap, Sentinel Rock and Cook’s Meadow is a daily blessing 

and sets the tone for each day of work. I have never 

had a morning where I didn’t want to get out of bed and 

go be a park ranger. 

What do you like to do when not working Coaching 

my kids’ soccer and ski teams is where I find the greatest 

rewards in my free time. As the head coach of the 

Yosemite Ski Team and President of the Yosemite Winter 

Club, my passion for the cold season is readily apparent. 

Cycling, trail running and hikes-to-nowhere-in-particular 

are a few of my other passions. 

What is your favorite place in Yosemite Top of Half 

Dome. No, wait…basking in Ribbon Fall. No, wait… 

Mariposa Grove in winter. No, wait…Cathedral Lakes. 

No, wait…Dewey Point. No, wait…Glacier Point at full 

moon. No, wait…High Sierra Camps. No, wait… 

What is your favorite Yosemite book Magic Yosemite 

Winters by Gene Rose. The book reminds me of long winters 

growing up in Michigan when my dad used to flood 

the backyard to form an ice rink and the whole neighborhood 

would come over for hockey and skating. Yosemite’s 

winter history is so rich, I can’t hear enough about it. 

What is your favorite non-Yosemite book The Greatest 

Generation by Tom Brokaw. These compelling stories 

were made even more meaningful by my recent trip to 

Normandy, France. 

Who is your favorite historical figure My Grandma 

“Med” and Grandma Dewind would roll over if I didn’t 

give the nod to Jesus. So many positive messages about 

how to live well, treat one another and live in peace. 

Given the number of mistakes I make, I’m also a big fan 

of His legacy of forgiveness. 

What sets Yosemite apart from other parks and public 

lands where you’ve worked I haven’t witnessed anyplace 

that compares to the community life in Yosemite. 

The friendships, the social atmosphere, the support, the 

schools, the quality of life. Oh yeah, and Yosemite is the 

most ridiculously beautiful place on earth. 

What do you think is YA’s most important role I feel 

that YA’s most important role is fostering deeper connections 

between the public and Yosemite’s critical and 

amazing resources. We often say that interpretation is 

about facilitating caring. YA provides information and 

opportunities for people to learn and care more about the 

park, but also opportunities to care for it through membership, 

volunteerism and active stewardship. 

Is there anything else you want to tell our readers 

All the good things that I am are a product of my parents. 

My faith, my love of the outdoors and my commitment 

to family are founded on what was given to me by my 

parents. And, for the record, all the bad things that I 

am are a product of my two brothers… 


15

MEMBERS PAGES 

Celebrating Spring YA Style 

Rushing waterfalls and green meadows 

signal the approach of spring in Yosemite 

Valley, but the clearest sign for all of us 

at YA is the annual Spring Forum. This 

year was no exception. On March 29, 

over four hundred YA members came 

together in Yosemite Valley for an inspiring 

day exploring the natural and cultural 

history of the park. 

Members enjoyed interpretive walks with 

NPS rangers, Yosemite Institute instructors, 

naturalists and authors addressing 

many facets of the park. Highlights 

included “The Life of a Ranger” with 

Leslie Reynolds, Keith Lober, Jeff 

Webb, Mike Siler and Scott Francis; Joe 

Medeiros’ “Beyond Ceanothus”; and 

perennial favorites like Dick Ewart’s 

tour of the Old Big Oak Flat Road and 

“Life in the Yosemite Cemetery” with 

Fred Fisher. Inside the Theater and 

Auditorium, speakers shared their expertise 

on an even broader range of topics. 

Tim Palmer presented his latest book 

of writings and photography, Luminous 

Mountains: The Sierra Nevada of 

California, while YA’s Pete Devine guided 

members on a preview of the upcoming 

YA tour of Yosemite’s sister parks in 

China. Superintendent Mike Tollefson 

gave his annual park update and Branch 

Chief of Wildlife Management Steve 

COURTESY YA 

David Guy welcomes members at a morning plenary by the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. 

Thompson explored the fate of the 

park’s amphibians in “Frogs, Fish & 

Fungus: Disappearance of a Yosemite 

Species.” Rounding out the afternoon, 

photographer Mike Osborne displayed a 

more intimate side of Yosemite’s natural 

charms in his presentation “Yosemite 

without the Icons.” 

Throughout the day, members had the 

opportunity to view and bid on artwork 

donated by volunteer artists during the 

opening weekend of the Yosemite Art 

and Education Center. Winners were 

announced during the traditional wine 

and cheese reception while the crowd 

greeted new friends and old. Meanwhile, 

authors Tim Palmer and Michael Ross 

and illustrator Ashley Wolff signed copies 

of their books. 

Once again, this successful event is due 

in part to the generosity of our members 

and many friends and partners in 

Yosemite. Our thanks go to all of those 

who contributed to the day; we couldn’t 

do it without you: Joe Alfano, American 

Park Network, Barbara Boucke, DNC 

Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Nené 

Casares, Ben Cunningham-Summerfield, 

Pete Devine, Nicky Dunbar, Margaret 

Eissler, Linda Eade, Dick Ewart, Fred 

Fisher and Joe Lattuada, Scott Francis, 

Gerry Haslam, Emily Jacobs, MaryJane 

and Vern Johnson, Janis Kunz, Keith 

Lober, Calvin Liu, Jo Mariano, Denise 

Matsuoka, Joe Medeiros, Tom Medema, 

Ginny “Enid Michael” Mitchell, Mike 

Osborne, Tim Palmer, Professional 

Print & Mail, Redwood Creek, Leslie 

Reynolds, Lennie Roberts, Michael 

Ross, Julie Schuller, Linda Shepler, Mike 

Siler, Heather Sullivan, Sarah Stock, 

Ken Stowell, Mike Tollefson, Jeff Webb, 

Phyllis Weber, Andrew West, Ed Whittle, 

Julice Winter and Ashley Wolff. 

COURTESY YA 

Ranger Scott Francis and his four-legged 

friend sharing stories of life as a ranger in 

the park. 


Two Great Valleys Connected 

One hundred Yosemite Association 

members and friends explored the vital 

connection between the Yosemite and 

San Joaquin Valleys at a special February 

29 reception at Arte Américas, in the 

heart of the Cultural Arts District of 

downtown Fresno. 

Arte Américas Director Grace Solis 

warmly welcomed our group to their 

inviting facility. 

CORRIE STETZEL 

Our guests enjoyed a thought-provoking 

discussion by award-winning author 

Gerald Haslam, and met Yosemite Park 

Superintendent Mike Tollefson and the 

Association board and staff. We were 

delighted to see long-time Association 

members and meet many new friends 

who traveled from as far as Bakersfield 

to attend. 

We hope you’ll join us at a future 

Yosemite Association event soon. We 

will be gathering on September 6 in 

Wawona for the annual Fall Meeting, 

and are planning Bay Area and Southern 

California events later in the year. 

Watch this quarterly members’ journal 

or our periodic e-newsletter for event 

announcements. Want to become an 

Author and YA board member Gerry 

Haslam addresses the group. 

e-news subscriber It’s easy! Just visit 

yosemite.org and click on “Subscribe to 

Newsletter.” 

CORRIE STETZEL 

2008 Spring Forum Highlights 

Above: Author Tim Palmer signs his newly released title, 

Luminous Mountains. 

Top right: Interpretive Ranger Ben Cunningham-Summerfield 

describes the lives of Yosemite’s black bears. 

Bottom right: YA’s Pete Devine and some young fans. 

LAURA BEARDSLEY (3) 


17

COURTESY BIG CREEK INN 

New Lodging Partner Added 

Big Creek Inn Bed and Breakfast is now offering YA members 

a 10% discount. The closest B&B to the south entrance of 

Yosemite National Park, Big Creek Inn is located on Highway 

41 just two miles from Yosemite in the charming town of Fish 

Camp. All three guest rooms feature private balconies that overlook 

Big Creek and a meadow. The discount applies to stays of 

two or more nights. Learn more about Big Creek Inn or make 

your reservation today by calling 559-641-2828 or visiting www. 

bigcreekinn.com. 

We thank Big Creek Inn and all of our lodging, merchandise 

and activity discount partners for adding tremendous value to 

an Association membership. For a description of the rest of your 

member benefits, please refer to your 2008 Membership Benefits 

booklet, view them online at yosemite.org/member/benefits. 

htm, or call the Membership Department at 209-379-2317 for 

assistance. 

BILL “DOLT” FEUHRER, 1957, COURTESY OF YOSEMITE CLIMBING ASSOCIATION 

Granite Frontiers: A Century of Yosemite Climbing 

“As I hammered in the last bolt and staggered 

over the rim, it was not at all clear to 

me who was conqueror and who was conquered: 

I do recall that El Cap seemed to 

be in much better condition than I was.” 

—Warren Harding, 1959 

The Yosemite Museum will host an 

exhibit this summer on the park’s climbing 

history featuring artifacts, movies, 

and stories covering the development of 

rock climbing. Starting with John Muir’s 

ascent of Cathedral Peak in 1869, the 

exhibit explores the challenges of reaching 

Yosemite’s highest heights, including 

the need for better equipment and techniques. 

These innovations ultimately led 

to the two hour and forty-five minute 

ascent of El Capitan in 2007. Opening 

June 7 and running through October 

27, 2008, the exhibit is open daily from 

10:00 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4:00 

p.m. The exhibit is sponsored by The 

Yosemite Fund and is being produced by 

the Yosemite Climbing Association. 

Warren Harding and Mark Powell during an early attempt on the Nose of El Capitan. 

Volunteers Wanted! 

Give back to your park in a new way. 

If you enjoy working with people and 

sharing your love of Yosemite, consider a 

rewarding vacation as a YA volunteer. 

Spend a week as part of a restoration 

crew or a month helping visitors with 

their questions about the park. Monthlong 

Visitor Information Volunteer 

positions are still available throughout 

the park, as are a handful of openings 

in Cooperative Work Weeks during the 

2008 season. 

If you would like more information or 

are interested in applying for either program, 

please call Laura at 209-379-2317, 

or e-mail lbeardsley@yosemite.org. More 

information is available in the Winter 

2008 issue of this journal (p. 22) or 

visit us online at yosemite.org/helpus/ 

volunteer.html. 

YA Volunteer Adrienne Kalmick assists a 

visitor in Tuolumne Meadows. 

LAURA BEARDSLEY 


May We Share Your Address 

With Other Nonprofits 

Occasionally we have the opportunity 

to trade our mailing list with other 

nonprofit organizations, to increase 

our respective membership rosters and 

enhance our ability to support our parks 

or institutions. List trades are invaluable 

to nonprofits because they introduce us 

to new potential members while helping 

us minimize our operational costs. 

Although we have rarely capitalized on 

such opportunities, we would like to be 

able to do so when we know another 

organization to be reputable and to have 

something of value to offer to our members. 

If you would prefer not to have us 

share your name and address, please 

notify the Membership department 

by calling us at 209-379-2317, by sending 

an e-mail to info@yosemite.org, or 

by mailing a note to us at P.O. Box 230, 

El Portal, CA 95318. All “do not share” 

requests will be acknowledged and honored 

in perpetuity. Note that telephone 

numbers and e-mail addresses are not 

released or traded for any reason. 

Donors and Friends Gather at the Yosemite Art and Education Center 

When the Yosemite Art and Education 

Center opened for classes this spring, 

it did so with a celebration. On Friday, 

March 28, Yosemite Association donors 

and friends gathered to welcome our 

honored Spring Forum speakers and 

Superintendent Mike Tollefson. Guests 

enjoyed wine from Redwood Creek and 

generous hors d’oeuvres from Yosemite 

Lodge at the Falls while enjoying a sneak 

preview of the Spring Forum Silent 

Art Auction. Tim Palmer signed copies 

of his new YA/Heyday publication 

Luminous Mountains: The Sierra Nevada 

of California, and YA CEO David Guy, 

Superintendent Tollefson and Delaware 

North Companies Parks & Resorts at 

Yosemite Chief Operating Officer Dan 

Jensen welcomed everyone to the park 

for an exciting weekend of events. 

The Yosemite Art and Education Center 

offers free art classes to the public 

Monday through Saturday from April 

through October. For more information 

call 209-372-1442 or visit yosemite.org/ 

visitor/AAC08.html 

Many thanks to the American Park 

Network, Redwood Creek, Denise 

Matsuoka, Jo Mariorano, Janis Kunz and 

the staff of Yosemite Lodge at the Falls 

for their contributions to this event. 

MEMBER INFO LINE 

If you’re planning a trip to Yosemite and have questions, give our phone line a call 

between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. We don’t make 

reservations, but we can give appro priate phone numbers and usually lots of helpful 

advice. Call us at 209-379-2317. 

I Remember Yosemite… 

YOSEMITE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT SEEKS PARTICIPANTS 

Yosemite National Park has launched a multi-year oral 

history project to capture the stories of people at one of 

the nation’s most iconic national parks. The goal of the 

project is to enhance and enrich the historical understanding 

of Yosemite National Park with information that could not 

otherwise be found in the documentary record. The result 

will be a high-quality audio-visual oral history collection for 

use by researchers and in future interpretive functions such as 

museum exhibits, programs and podcasts. 

Initial interviews for the project will focus on former and 

current National Park Service employees who have helped 

shape the park. However, the scope of the project will expand 

to include concession employees, spouses and children of 

employees, long-time park residents and members of neighboring 

communities—in other words, individuals who have 

had a significant and often long-term connection to the park. 

The project will explore such themes as work, technological 

change, the evolution of park management, environmental 

change and the development of community life in the park. 

location. Ultimately, all recorded sessions will be transcribed 

and all materials will be preserved as part of the park’s permanent 

archive collection. These materials will be available for 

use in Yosemite interpretive programming and for research by 

scholars, genealogists and others interested in park history. 

If you know of someone who should be nominated for this 

project, please contact Archivist Paul Rogers or Assistant 

Archivist Brenna Lissoway at 209-379-1283 or through email at 

Paul_Rogers@nps.gov or Brenna_Lissoway@nps.gov. 

Yosemite staff is utilizing professional-quality high definition 

digital video and audio equipment acquired specifically for the 

project. Interviews can be conducted not only in the El Portal 

Archives facility, but in a subject’s home or other agreed-upon 


19

ASSOCIATION DATES 

Legend: 

OA = Outdoor Adventure 

YAEC = Yosemite Art & Education Center free courses 

MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST 

Early May: Spring 2008 

issue of quarterly members’ 

journal Yosemite sent out 

May 4: Last day to view 

Yosemite Renaissance XXIII 

exhibit, Yosemite Museum 

Gallery 

June 1–7: YAEC: 

Pen & Watercolor with 

John McClary 

June 5–8: OA #19 

Yosemite’s Hawks and Owls 

– Jeff Maurer 

June 7: OA #20 Half Dome 

in a Day 1 – Pete Devine 

July 7–12: YAEC: Painting 

Yosemite in Acrylic with 

Patricia Devitt 

July 10–13: OA #26 Glen 

Aulin and the Waterwheels 

Backpack – Suzanne Swedo 

July 11–13: OA #27 

Yosemite Flyfishing 

– Tim Hutchins 

July 11–13: OA #28 

Tuolumne Meadows Pastels 

– Moira Donohoe 

Early Aug: Summer 2008 

issue of quarterly members’ 

journal Yosemite sent out 

Aug 1–3: OA #36 

Stars over the High Country 

– Rick Combs 

Au 1–3: OA #37 The Nature 

of Writing Children’s Books 

– Michael Ross 

Aug 1–3: OA #40 

Photographing High 

Country Habitats 

– Howard Weamer 

Aug 2: OA #41 Yosemite’s 

First People – Ben 

Cunningham-Summerfield 

May 5–10: YAEC: Travel 

Sketching with Pam 

Pederson 

May 10: OA #15 Yosemite 

Waterfalls Grand Tour 

– Suzanne Swedo 

May 12–17: YAEC: The 

Magic of Watercolor with 

Robert Dvorak 


Watercolor Workshop with 

Janice Powell Shedd 

June 14: OA #21 Birding 

Yosemite Valley – Michael 

Ross 

June 15: OA #22 Foresta 

Birds – Michael Ross 

June 15–21: Weed Warriors 

and More Work Week, 

Yosemite Valley 

July 12: OA #29 

Glacier Point Wildflowers 


July 13–19: Plant Protectors 

Work Week, Wawona 

July 14–19: YAEC: Easy 

Valley Landscapes with Roy 

Gould 

July 18–20: OA #30 

Half Dome Overnight 1 

– Pete Devine 

Aug 2–5: OA #38 Young 

Lakes and Marvelous Mt. 

Conness – Suzanne Swedo 

August 2–9: Tuolumne 

High Sierra Camp 

Restoration Work Week 

Aug 4–9: YAEC: Drawing 

with Colors with Frank 

Poulsen 

Aug 7–10: OA #39 

Half Dome the Easy Way 


Aug 7–10: OA #42 

Tuolumne Meadows en Plein 

Air – Chuck Waldman 

May 16–18: OA #16 

Hetch Hetchy Photography 

Backpack – John Senser 

May 17: OA #17 To the Top 

of Yosemite Falls – Karen 

Amstutz 

June 16–18: OA #23 

North Dome Moonrise 

Photography Backpack 

– John Senser 


Watercolor—Bold & Free! 

with Tom Fong 

June 21: OA #24 Get Lost 

with a Ranger – Dick Ewart 

July 19–22: OA #31 

Family Camping Jamboree 1 

– Dave Wyman 

July 21–26: YAEC: 

Dramatic Watercolors with 

Thor Ericson 

July 24–27: OA #32 

Family Camping Jamboree 2 

– Dave Wyman 

July 25–27: OA #33 

Introduction to Sierra 

Natural History – David 

Lukas and Jack Laws 

Aug 10–16: Tuolumne 

Restoration Work Week, 

Tuolumne Meadows 

Aug 11–16: YAEC: Fun 

with Watercolor with David 

Deyell 

Aug 16: OA #43 Half Dome 

in a Day 2 – Pete Devine 

Aug 16–22: OA #44 

Advanced Backpack to the 

North Park – Dick Ewart 

Aug 18–23: YAEC: Drawing 

Yosemite in Pastel with 

Travis Wheeler 

May 19–24: YAEC: Painting 

Yosemite’s Hidden Treasures 

with Fealing Lin 

May 25–31: YAEC: Learn to 

Paint Water, Trees, Rocks and 

More with Roger Folk 


Watercolor for Landscape 

with Don Fay 

June 28: OA #25 Glacier 

Point Birding – Michael Ross 

June 30–July 5: YAEC: 

Watercolor with Pat Hunter 

July 26–Aug 2: Tuolumne 

High Sierra Camp 

Restoration Work Week 

July 27–31: OA #34 

Women’s Backpack 

– Danah Woodruff 

July 28–August 1: OA #35 

Alpine Botany Basecamp 

Backpack – Steve Botti 

July 28–August 2: YAEC: 

Watercolors (for journals 

or paintings) with Linda 

Mitchell 

Aug 21–24: OA #45 

Tuolumne Elite Summits 

– Pete Devine 

Aug 25–30: YAEC: 

Travel Sketching with 

Pam Pederson 

Aug 30: OA #46 Into the 

Gaylor Basin-Suzanne Swedo 

Aug 30: OA #47 Birding 

Tuolumne Meadows 


Aug 31: OA #48 

Clouds Rest Dayhike 


For an expanded events calendar, visit yosemite.org/member/calendar.htm 

To register for an Outdoor Adventure or to book a custom adventure, call 209-379-2321 or visit 

yosemite.org/seminars. Proceeds from all YA programs help support Yosemite! 

20 

YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION, SPRING 2008

YOSEMITE CATALOG 

BOOKS 

AWARD 

WINNER! 

Dutch Courage by Jack London 

Illustrations by Larry Duke, forward by Gerald Haslam 

The Yosemite Association is pleased to announce that Dutch Courage 

by Jack London has been honored by the Association of Partners 

for Public Lands as a winner in the general interest publications 

category for 2007. The story, about two men and their exciting 

experience climbing Half Dome, has appeared in a few collections of 

Jack London’s work, but not as a separate publication. This elegant 

letterpress edition includes an introduction prepared by author Gerald 

Haslam and a series of illustrations by acclaimed artist Larry Duke. 

The edition is limited to 350 numbered copies, each signed by Gerald 

Haslam and Larry Duke. Perfect for a gift, this beautiful deluxe book 

makes a wonderful addition to a library of Yosemite literature or the 

works of Jack London. $200.00; member price $140.00 

An Illustrated Flora of 

Yosemite National Park 

by Stephen J. Botti; 

illustrated by Walter Sydoriak 

Spring has arrived in Yosemite, revealing 

nature’s garden. With this landmark volume, 

nearly twenty years in the making, you will 

have the means to identify every vascular 

plant species known to occur in Yosemite. 

It is beautifully illustrated with over 1,100 

watercolor paintings of flowering species, and 

pen-and-ink drawings for nearly 300 grass, 

rush and sedge species. This is an important 

new resource for scientists, botanists, ecologists and others studying the health and diversity of 

Sierra Nevada ecosystems. It provides a complete record of species abundance and distribution, and 

establishes a baseline against which future changes can be measured. The book has applicability well 

beyond park boundaries; many of the species included are found throughout the Sierra Nevada. The 

first new Yosemite flora in 90 years, it is the new bible of Yosemite plant identification for lay people, 

park visitors, amateur botanists and others. The book’s foreword is by Peter H. Raven, Director of 

the Missouri Botanical Garden; its line drawings are by Lesley Randall (grasses, sedges, and rushes) 

and Katherine Hocker (illustrated glossary); Linda Ann Vorobik served as technical editor. The first 

edition, limited to 3,000 copies, is finely printed on archival, art-quality paper, and is case bound with 

a dust jacket. $125.00; member price $100.00 


21

To see an expanded list of the Yosemite Store’s products, visit our secure online site at 

www.yosemitestore.com 

BOOKS 

Wildflowers of Yosemite 

by Lynn & Jim Wilson and Jeff Nicholas 

This user-friendly guide to the wildflowers of Yosemite 

and the central Sierra Nevada is full of 239 beautiful color 

photographs. The authors identify 224 different species in 

chapters keyed to Yosemite’s different regions. The book 

also features maps of selected wildflower sites in the park, 

simplified terminology and both written and illustrated 

glossaries. $9.95; member price $8.46 

Introduction to California Mountain Wildflowers 

by Philip A. Munz 

Many landscapes in California’s mountains are still 

relatively untouched by human activity and provide 

excellent opportunities for viewing wildflowers. This 

guidebook describes and illustrates the wildflowers that 

grow from the yellow pine belt up into the natural rock 

gardens above the timberline. Some 257 species are 

described and illustrated with a new color photograph, 

a precise line drawing, or both. This new edition covers 

all of California’s mountain ranges—from the Klamath 

Mountains and 

Cascade Range to the 

north, through the 

Coast Ranges and 

the Sierra Nevada, to 

the peninsular ranges 

and San Bernardino 

mountains in southern 

California—as well as 

most of the mountain 

ranges in between. 

$16.95 

member price $14.41 

Wildflowers of the 

Sierra Nevada and 

the Central Valley 

by Laird R. Blackwell 

This guide to wildflowers 

covers 320 different species, 

all illustrated in full-color 

photographs. Seventeen 

different families of plants 

are color-coded for easy 

identification. The book 

is organized by elevation 

from the Central Valley 

up to the alpine high 

Sierra. Another very useful feature is a Quick Key that sorts 

flowers by elevation color, and petal number. Also included are 

a discussion of the elevation zones, description of flower parts, 

glossary, references and an index to both common and scientific 

names. This is a handsome and colorful guide to the wildflowers 

frequently encountered in Yosemite and its environs. 

$15.95; member price $13.56 


Edible and Useful Plants 

of California 

by Charlotte Bringle Clarke 

Both American Indians and 

the pioneers knew and used 

many different plant species 

for food, fiber, medicine, tools 

and other purposes. This is 

a guide to identifying more 

than 220 such plants. It also 

tells how to prepare, cook and 

otherwise use native plants. The 

plants are organized by habitat 

communities. Descriptions, 

photos, drawings and 

distribution information are given. Where poisonous 

look-alikes exist, they too are illustrated. The author 

emphasizes conservation considerations; the aim of 

the book is to educate the reader about intriguing 

plant uses, and to tell how to gather and use the most 

palatable and abundant species without damaging the 

environment. $18.95; member price $16.11 

Sierra Nevada Wildflowers 

by Elizabeth L. Horn 

Sierra Nevada Wildflowers is your guide to more 

than 300 wildflower species in the Sierra’s vast 

and varied landscape. Crisp color photographs 

face the text, allowing you to identify the flowers 

you see in the field with 

ease. The book also 

contains an illustrated 

glossary and a section 

on identifying Sierra 

Nevada conifers. $16.00; 

member price $13.60 

Order Form 

1 

2 

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For credit card orders call 209-379-2648 Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.– 4:30 p.m. 

We Accept VISA, Mastercard, American Express and Discover 

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Shop online at www.yosemitestore.com for more items! 

SUBTOTAL 

7.75% Sales Tax (CA customers only): 

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TOTAL ENCLOSED: 

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UPS 2nd Day = $18.95 

Call for AK, HI, and International rates 


23

NEW MEMBERS AND RECENT DONATIONS 

ENROLLMENTS AND GIFTS PROCESSED BETWEEN JANUARY 2, 2008 TO MARCH 25, 2008 

NEW AND REJOINING 

MEMBERS 

Welcome to our new and rejoining members! 

You’ve connected with nearly 11,000 likeminded 

individuals, families and businesses, 

helping the Association make Yosemite an 

even better place. 

Benefactor Members 

Bruce & Candis Kerns, Diane & Erwin 

Thomet 

Patron Members 

Patricia & Neil Cormia, David McGinness, 

James Payne, Jay & Marjorie Rossi, Andrew 

& Eleanor Su, Marilyn Tuft-Holtz 

Sustaining Members 

Maureen Abaray & D. Becker, Raymond 

Burnham, John & Patricia Carbone, Eunice 

Childs, Hilary Chittick, David Coder, Janet 

Dixon, John & Annette Emerson, Albert 

Friss, Mark & Bonnie Hudak, Jonathan 

Hutchinson, Patricia Jones, Jack & Cathy 

Kasprzycki, Terease Kwiatkowski, Betty Mae 

& Jim Locke, Robert McDuff & Marsha 

Harris, Mark & Laura McGeever, Meehan 

Family, Sally Montgomery, Peter Nelson, 

Michael Passovoy, Patrick & Mary Ellen 

Stuart, Mike & Nancy Thomas, David & 

Mary Helen Young 

Contributing Members 

Jeanette Baird, John Berger, Jack Bertges, 

Ron & Barbi Bissinger, Richard Clymer, 

T.J. Colley, Sandra Cummings, Charles 

Dillingham, Mark Eliot & Mark Eliot, 

Russell Evarts, Arthur & Judith Fink, 

Wayne & Joanne Fong, Jerome & Sandra 

Gott, James R. Griffin, Eric Gullett, 

Helen Herzberg, Bret Hewitt & Deborah 

Pinkerton, Steven & Cheryl Holldber, 

Chuck Huggins, Craig Jones & Anne 

Sheehan, Basu Kiragi, Laura Leach, Lois 

Lippincott, Norman W. Madge, William 

Manning, Salvatore Martinelli, Linda 

McLaughlin, Ruth M. McNamara, Carol 

Moses, Sandy Murray, Vasuki & Sriram 

Narayan, Eve & Bernie Notas, Robert 

Paster, John Piersol, Donna Rogers, Paul 

Rose & Nancy Ekman, Nancy Saint John, 

Linda Scott & Bill Smith, Megan Segre, 

Craig Shawver, Susan Shumway, Steven 

P. Smith, Alan Soule, Hilda Stengard, 

Philip Stohr, Joan Stutes, Wendy Svoboda, 

Thomas & Karen Szymanski, Dorothy & 

Dan Votaw, Debra Zvanut 

Supporting Members 

Kenneth Aaron, Diane Allen & K. 

Quenneville, Mark & Catherine Amberg, 

Bill, Janelle & Hayes Baxter, James A. 

Beck, Sara Benson, Anthony Bernas & 

Andrew Neugehauer, Robert Bloom, 

Terry Boers, Charles Brown, Ginny & Jeff 

Burdick, Manuel & Sandy Chen, Lee & 

Bill Cilker, Madeleine Clark, Betty Clark, 

Debra Clemons, Rae Coleman, Barbara 

Contreras, Peter Crabtree & Barbara A 

Bene, Jim & Valerie Craft, Austie Cupp, 

Susan D’Alcamo, Paul A. Danielson, 

Marie Davies, Ann Davis, Donald & 

Laura Davis, John & Patricia Dervin, Fred 

Dietrich, Brian Dorcey, Mr. & Mrs. Ronald 

Douglass, Gail Eckert, Brendan Egan, 

Lauralyn Eschner, Bob Evans, Joyce Faber, 

Richard Fauver, Ray Fenio, Kirby Flanagan 

& Darcie Carpenter, Susan Fleg, Berry 

Foran, Marcia Freedman, Jeff & Terrilyn 

Fry, Shayne Garvey, Dudley Goul, Stephen 

Graner, Robert Greenamyer, Lyn Haber, 

Ted Hall, Kerry Hamana, Phyllis Hancock, 

Diane Hansen, Karin Hart, James Hawkins, 

Darryl & Denise Hazlitt, Jeff Heuerman, 

Kathryn Higley, John Hirsch, April Hoey, 

Linda Hogan, Elizabeth Horn, Patty Hug, 

Arthur Ireland, S. Michael Johnson, Henry 

& Margaret Jones, Ellis & Deb Jones, 

Karen Kalvass, Sherri & Dennis Kaufman, 

George Kelley, Gerald Kennedy, Dan Kline, 

Walter & Elisabeth Knauff, Paul & Suzanne 

Koehl, Esther Korman, Mike & Katherine 

Kunz, Robert Kutner, Mona Landa, Edwin 

Deane Leonard, Betty Levitin, Valerie 

Levitt, Linda & Jacob Lewis, Fran Loewen, 

Paula Lucches, Mr. V. H. Lytton, Emanuel 

Malek, Kathleen Matias, John & Danna 

McCormick, Meg McDonald, Greg McNab, 

Frederick McNulty, Alayne Meeks, Gregory 

Merritt, Mark Meyer, Douglas Mitchell, 

Art & Kit Moses, Julie Moutes, Nanci 

Navarro, M. E. Nolan-Bruni & Arnold 

Bruni, Raymond Nystrom, Kevin D. & 

Beatrice Olsen, Wm. & Jone Osborn, Ron 

& Siegrid Patterson, William Poe Family, 

Ted Reeves, Sandra Reinhold, Bill Roberts, 

Ron Robillard, Martha & BJ Rock, Marcia 

Ross, Susan Russell, Richard & Doris Ryon, 

Russell & Cheryl Sakai, Richard Sathum, 

Gertrud Schleiger, Barbara Schwefel, Larry 

& Sue Sebastian, Devereau (Bill & Dev) 

Sellin, Peter Shin, Pat Showalter, Jane Sims, 

Robert Slyker, Jim & Jan Smith, Jeanne & 

Jerry Southwood, Cynthia Spotts, Walter 

St. Goar, Stay Near Yosemite.com, Don 

Stratton, William Sutcliffe, Scott Taylor, 

Glen Tripp & Lauren Dutton Tripp, 

Marguerite Vierman, Joseph Wasilewski 

& K. Barrett, Carol & Ralph Weinstein, 

Stephen Whisner, Noel Wickham, Phyllis 

Wilson & Ed Heithaus, Windows On the 

World, George & Carol Withers, Jimmie & 

Elaine Wright, Carol Yamasaki 

Joint/Family Members 

Richard Adelman, Carol Adiletto, Dee 

Allen-Kirkhouse, Amy Allgood, Mark 

Antenucci, John Anthony, Heather Anttila, 

Peter Arango, Karen Arendes, Joe & Rachel 

Armstrong, Joy Arts, Diane & Max August, 

Howard Ausden, Jody & Lee Baly, Joel 

Balzer, Brad & Kathy Barnwell, Jacqueline 

Barros, Marshall Bentley, Alan & Ellen 

Berkowitz, Jennifer & Jon Bernhard, 

Mike Bernsen, Herbert & Beverly Bishop, 

Christina Booth, Terry Bourlard, Janet 

& Robert Boyd, Tonya Broussard, Ron 

& Michelle Bryant, Jeanne Buchanan, 

Dorothy Cameron & Dan Kelley, Michael 

Campbell, Kevin Cann & Beth Waldow, 

Vincent Cardi, Olof & Elizabeth Carmel, 

Jennifer & Katie Carole, Thomas Carter, 

Leo Castleberry, bernard Caughlin, Randall 

Cazanjian, Theresa Cesari Sogolow & 

Ray Rider, Stuart Charme, Ishai Cohen, 

Rr. Adm. & Mrs. F. Collins, Anne Collins, 

Peter Crigger & Elizabeth Hansell, Thomas 

Crosby, Chris Cruz & JoAnne Weston, 

Sue Ellen Cunningham, Barbara Currie, 

Richard Davidson, Fancy Davis, Teresa De 

La Cerda, Kelley Deem & Lizette Molina, 

Patricia Dege, Nancie & Charles Deleuw, 

Linda Dolman, Coni Donnelly, Julie 

Dormandy, Sheila & Jack Dubin, Michael 

DuBois & Family, Eleanor Dunn, Andrea 

Edmunson, Kenneth & Julia Edwards, 

Glen & Dorothy Elfers, John Ellis, Virginia 

Erickson, John & B. Kay Ericson, Richard 

& Sarah Evans, Tom Evans, Leslie Fager, 

Gary Fahrenz & Roberta Rogers, Danise 

Fairchild, LuRetta Fairman, John & Shelia 

Feichtner, Neal Fine, Thomas Fritz, Niall 

Fritz, Michael & Mary Gainey, Jim Garlock, 

Dusty Garner, Fred & Lourdes Garside, 

Lynda Gehlhausen, John German, Andre 

Gib, Paul & Karen Gierlach, Jeffery Gill, 

Nancy & Gary Gilmore, Chris Giorni, 

James Glendinning, Jeffrey Goeckner & 

Elissa Miller, David Grady & Ann Grady, 

Martha Griswold & Lawrence Elias, Julie 

Groeger, Junko Habu & Mark Hall, Mr. & 

Mrs. Ron Harder, Jayne Harrison, Adam 

& Kathy Hart, Joe Harvey, Robert & Mary 

Hawkins, Harold Hayman, Mr. & Mrs. 

James Heiser, Leslie Henderson, William 

Hennig, Justin Hill, Paul & Barbara 

Hirshman, Jan & Stephen Hitchcock, 

Theresa Ho, Juno Hoeflich, Mike Honey, 

Karen & Ralph Hulbert, David Hurst & 

Mary E. Daly, Colette & Norman Hyder, 

Bruce, Ruth & Thomas Jackson, Howard 

Kayton, S. Weldon Keating, Ted & Larkelyn 

Keener, John Kelly, Kelly Kersten, Karam 

Khalsa & N. Lamoureaux, Dave & Penny 

Kiehl, Kathleen Kilby, Marjorie A. Kirk, 

John Kirlin, Vera & Joe Klein, Gary & Lea 

Knight, Jeff Lahr, Kathleen Lail, Karen 

& Doug Landon, Jeff Lang, Greg Lanter, 

Joleen Laroche, Lynn Larremore, Steve & 

Teri Laugenour, David & Lisa Leeming, 

Marla Lenz, Shannon Leslie & Logan Leslie, 


Robert & Carol Lewis, David & Bernice Lifton, 

Frances Lin, Mariko Lofink, Debra & Doug Lowe, 

John & Kathi Lucas, Denise Ludwig, Lawrence 

Lurie, Frawley J. Lynch, Charles Malone, 

Thomas Marchok & T. Maldonado, Roman 

Marenin, Chris Martinez, Mark May, Robert 

& Christy McCain, Nicole McCartney, Janet 

McCasllister, Russell McElroy, Robert & Laura 

McNair, Bob & Ann McPherson, Bob Medema, 

Dennis Merrill, Joseph Meyer & Samantha 

Weber, William Mieler, Jessica & Dave Miller, 

Kent Mills & Carolyn Wyatt, Greg Mondello, 

Donald & Linda Moon, Frank Morgan, Leslie 

Mosteller, John Najar, Mary & Charles Nelsen, 

William & Hanako Nelson, Dana Nelson, Greg 

& Norene Nims, Gary & Kathleen Novotny, 

Kathleen O’Hession, Pam O’Keefe, Nancy & 

James Osborn, Mark & Jackie Owens, Chris Page, 

Genalin Paler, Jody & Hank Palmer, Robert Pease, 

W. M. Peffley, John Perrotta, Donald & Patricia 

Phillips, Elizabeth Pierson, David & Margaret 

Pirrung Tyler Powell, David Presti, Mibs B. & 

David G. Prickett, Arnita Proffitt, Dan & Shelley 

Purcell, Lynn & Bob Rank, Katherine Ransom 

& Randy Lubert, Mr. & Mrs. Alan Raznick & 

Randy Lubert, John & Deborah Rego & Randy 

Lubert, Marc S. & Karen Rizzo & Randy Lubert, 

Linda & George Robinette & Randy Lubert, Gail 

Roper & Randy Lubert, Craig Rosser & Randy 

Lubert, Robert Roybal & Randy Lubert, Igor 

Rubinov & Randy Lubert, Mary Russell & Randy 

Lubert, John & Jennifer Russo & Randy Lubert, 

Diane & Rick Sanchez-Kirlicks & Randy Lubert, 

Terri & Bruce Sargeant & Randy Lubert, Laura 

Saxe & Randy Lubert, Steven Scates & Randy 

Lubert, Bill & Linda Schmidt & Randy Lubert, 

Raymond Schulz & Randy Lubert, Dick & Patty 

Schwabe & Randy Lubert, Steve & Theresa Shane 

& Randy Lubert, Richard Shavelson & Randy 

Lubert, Robert & Madeline Shelby & Randy 

Lubert, Dennis Shirey & Randy Lubert, Martha 

Silling & Randy Lubert, David Silver & Randy 

Lubert, The Silverstein Family & Randy Lubert, 

Karl Simmons & Randy Lubert, Ben Smith & 

Randy Lubert, Gary & Linda Spaugh & Randy 

Lubert, Curt Spear & Randy Lubert, Margaret & 

Gary Speed & Randy Lubert, Charles & Susan 

Speyerer & Randy Lubert, Kevin Stapel & Randy 

Lubert, Wayne & Jane Stevens & Randy Lubert, 

K. Stoddard & A. Coleman, Dan & Penny Sturm, 

Patricia & Don Sullivan, Cheryl & Brett Sutton, 

Sharon & Eldon Swanson, David Szczesny, Apollo 

Taleporos, Lily Tamura, Kathleen Tarmann & 

William Street, Stan Taylor & Kyla Burson, Jo 

Ann Toland, Susan Totte, Mike Tully, Dianne 

Tyau, Marcie Ubhoff, Steve & Laura Ullmann, 

Michael Updegraff, Eleanor & Ted Vallejos, 

Gloria Vargas, Dolores Vasquez, Joe & Adele Voss, 

Brent Wahlberg, Louise & Haines Waite, Conrad 

Walla, Kelly Walsh & Linda Colburn, Michael 

Wangler & Donna Troy, Robert & Leah Warren, 

Lisa Webber, Willett Family, Tom Wise, Bradley 

Wojcik, Robert Woodruff, Jo Wu & Dan Woods, 

Joel Zollars, Ernestine Zude 

Individual Members 

Kenneth Abreu, Max Allen, Evelyn Alloy, Jody 

Ames, William N. Anderson, Christopher 

Appleton, Patricia Arredondo, David Aurit, 

Janet Averett, Linda Balch, Nicole Bali, Carolyn 

Balliet, Gerard Barnes, Bert Bartsch, Jetta 

Bates-Vasilatos, Martin Bauman, Linda Bazett, 

Elizabeth Beavers, John Beck, Barbara Beck, 

Griff Behncke, Maxine Bell, Gerald Bertram, 

Cookie Billups, Adam Birek, Eliza Bishop, Nancy 

Biskovich, Harold Borzone, Chris Braley, Carol 

Brody, Janise Burford, Anne Butler, Raffaella 

Caesar, Cal State Univ, Mary Ann Campbell, 

Robert Carpenter, Cathy Chambers, Marie 

Channa, Charlotte Chatfield, Bowman Ching, 

Jennifer Chou, Virginia Collier, Nancy Connolly, 

Karen Corcoran, Roger Crawley, Elizabeth 

Crockett, Jill Curran, Gary Darnielle, Dominique 

De Fazio, Barbara Dean, Jaime Delgadillo, Cheryl 

Dillard, Jan Donofrio, Michele Dunkerley, 

Amy Dunn, Doris Ebert, Suzanne Eibeck, Leah 

Elizalde, Linda Eller, William Elliott, Robert 

Faggella, Jason Fareira, Brian Fenty, Dana 

Ferrara, Erik Ferroggiaro, Dru Foote, Chandler 

Ford, Kyri Freeman, Adrienne Freeman, Steven 

Fuller, Nancy Ganger, Miriam Garland, Bruce 

Gaynor, April Gentry, Deborah Gentry, Shoshana 

Gerson, Sharon Ghere, Joan Gingold, Rubin 

Gonzales, Mary Goodwin, Charlotte Goor, 

Jennifer Graves, Melanie Griffin, Michael Hafner, 

Linda Hall, J. M. Hamilton, Robert Hare, James 

Harris, Sarah Ann Hay, Jeff Heimbach, Jonna G. 

Hill, Deb Hird, Barbara L. Holloway, Margaret 

Horsfall, Amy Houser, Loretta Hunker, Laura 

Hunter, Scott Isaacman, Adriene Iverson, Robert 

Johnson, Linda Johnston, John Karow, Paige 

Marie Ketner, Kari Kidd, Eva & Phil Kirkpatrick, 

Christina Kisiel, Patrick Kleames, Charles 

Lammers, Lori Landrin, Kathy Ledbeter, Dan Lee, 

Susan Lesch, Delitlel Lester, Mrs. Shirley Lockard, 

Daniel Lopez, Barbara Louden, Kathleen Lund, 

Steve Lyman, Eileen Mahoney, Lupe Martinez 

Mendoza, Michael Mastrianni, Laurie May, 

Ruth May, Barbara McDonald, Keith McIntyre, 

Lee Meglli, Richard Metz, Sam Michelson, 

Jennifer Millar, Beth Miller, Alexander Miller, 

Imran Mirdad, Archie Mitchell, Darlene 

Monroe, Henrietta Morales, Dolores Morrison, 

Ronald Morrissette, Michael Morton, Sharon 

Niedringhaus, Lori Oldfather, Leo O’Loughlin, 

David Orthner, Dale Osborne, Sue Overstreet, 

David Page, Michael Parker, Patterson, Arilee 

Pollard, Leslie Ray, Fred Repetto, Nancy 

Reynolds, Philip Ritter, Michelle Roberts, Ann 

Roberts, Brian Rodriguez, Danny Rodriguez, 

Brent Romans, Robert Roorback, Karen Rosen, 

Bob Rugo, Marlene Saccaro, Tracy Sanders, John 

Sanger, Iris Sarabia, Olga Schauninghausen, 

Mark Schenden, Teresa Schneider & Beverly 

Wells, Nina Schwartz, Steven Seibert, Nancy 

Sexton, David Sharpness, Erin Simpson, Ann 

Simpson, Jane Simpson, Karen Smith, Louis 

Sobel, Julie Starobin, Andrea Stein, Chris Stein, 

Patricia Stevens, Herb Stockley, Jan Sumerel, 

Loretta Tapaatoutai, Cathi Thelen, Leslie Thorp, 

Donna Thurmon, Linda Tindall, Joanne Trask, 

Robert Traylor, Richard Turner, Tim Tyson, Ruby 

Tytran, Kathryn L. Walker, Mary Ann Walker, 

Sara Walsh, Rollin Warner, Ann Weatherford, 

Dorian West, Kirstie Lorelei Willean, Stan 

Winberg, Bob Winn, Weyman Wong, Linda 

Wood, Charles C. Worth, Gary Wycoff, John 

Ying, Peg Yount, Joni Zabala, John Zuniga 

International Members 

Angela Bodley, Jeffrey Ehrlich, Jonathon Gould, 

Dorothy Kelso 

MEMBERS WHO HAVE RENEWED AT 

A HIGHER LEVEL 

We thank the following members who, by recently 

upgrading their membership level, have enhanced 

our ability to provide key educational and other 

programs in Yosemite. 

Benefactor Members 

Peter & Jennifer Abe, Linda Lester, James Murray, 

Dan & Kathy Nikolai, Jerel & Jane Steckling 

Patron Members 

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Bostrom, Jim & Mary Anne 

Fullerton, William Kumpf, David McGinness, 

Rod & Connie Swanson, Lynn Thompson 

Sustaining Members 

Harry Agamalian, Robert Ankrum & Debra 

Jones, Anne Bettinger, Bob Bickers, Tom & 

Vallorie Borchardt, Ruth M. Carr, Harold 

Cranston, Fred David, Dold David, Joe DuCote, 

Howard Ehret, Ken Fears, Connie Harris, James 

& Sandra Holst, Kenneth & Joanne Hughes, 

Sandi Kane, Ellen Kolarik, Donna & Joe Krueger, 

Maureen Lahiff, Joe & Chris McCloskey, Charles 

& Patsy McLure, Mrs. Herbert Moffitt, Mr. 

& Mrs. Jene Pankow, Bev Phillips, Jim & Lori 

Richardson, Gary & Sherry Rorden, Maynard 

& Olga Jane Rotermund, William Russell & 

Ashley Wolff, Paul D. & Sylvia Sander, Teresa 

& John Scerbo, James C. Skelton, Roger Smith, 

Tim & Popie Stafford, John Staudinger & Debra 

Morrison, John & Amy Warden, Mary & Robert 

Wasik, Star & Dawn Williams, Ron & Carlien 

Williams, Dr. Chuck & Marian Woessner 

Contributing Members 

Rosemary Ames, Adaline Ancinas, Robert Ashley, 

Arleen Ballin, Robert & Carola Bartz, Mary & 

Jonathan Bayless, Allan Bazzoli, Todd Beck, 

Marek & Frances Bozdech, Charles Bradley & 

Susan Laurel, Mr. & Mrs. David Brubaker, Kim 

Bruno, Louise Burton & Roger Mateo, Lois 

Hartley Cannady, James Carr, Steve & Linda 

Cederborg, Joseph & Patricia Currie, David 

Dennick, Tom & Toni Duchene, Mary Edwards, 

James Erbes, Michael Fischer, Dayme Fitzpatrick, 

Dominic Gomez, Jim Graydon, Patricia Gregory, 

Beth Grimm, Arnold A. Grossman, Arthur & 

Marge Haskell, Viola Heinzelmann, Samual 

Hipkins, Mary & Dick Hobson, H. Johnson 

Hanerfeld & E. Hanerfeld, Claiborne Jones, 

Gina & Charles Kakos, Everett & Anne-Marie 

Kaukonen, Roy & Fran Keller, John & Rita 

Lawson, Catherine Lee & Pamela Reaves, David 

Lehmann, David Maggard, Sharon Marsh & 

Robert Peirce, Salvatore Martinelli, Celeste 

Matarazzo, Paul, Valerie & Jordan Minney, Leslie 

Mitchell, Sherrill Olsen, Stephen & Bonnie 

Olson, James Pardee & Golnar Zarnegar, Dale 

Peterson, Ronald Porcella, Dave & Caroline Pratt, 

Kenneth & Teri Pulvino, Anne Reinert & Scott 

Darling, Max Ritsema, Melva Rush, Anthony D. 

Schilling, Eugene & Nancy Sharp, Robert Sharpe, 

John Sherman, Scott Simmons, Wendy Swenson, 

Pamela Tweet, Hester Wesselmann, Janice 

Wimberly 

Supporting Members 

Gary F. & Debra A. Achgill, Howard Adler, 

Nancy & Don Anderson, Jackie & Don Appleton, 

Gregory Bayer, John Beasley, Davida Bergstrom, 

Jeannine Black, Jordan Blaquera & David 


25

Limrite, Robert Bradford, Joe Brazie, Craig 

Brestrup, Greg & Louise Bridges, Elmar G. Brock, 

Donald Bruce, William Bryan, Matthew Bush, 

Jeanne Carevic & John Atwood, Steven Collier, 

Barbara L. Collins, Glenn Crosby, William E. 

Cully, Stephen Cunha, Nancy D’Amico, David 

Dana, Jim & Nancy Dempsey, Stephan Dietrich, 

Wolfgang Dietrich, Curt Edmonds, Lynn Eldred, 

Dennis Evans, Steve & Arleen Fitzgerald, Therese 

Flood, Joe & Debra Galliani, Dolores Garland, 

Steve Garner, Susan Gishi, Debbie Glusker, Allan 

Goforth, Kristine Grant, Paul Grunland, Don 

& Diane Harmon, Rennie Harris, Donald & 

Diana Henrichsen, Peter Hiller, Michael Hire, 

Jill Holb, Richard & Sandra Holden, John & 

Diana Holman, James Horstman, Charlie Hoyt & 

Mary Bender, Doug & Fran Hubbard, John Huls, 

David & Pat Humphrey, Joy Jamgochian, Al & 

Nancy Johnston, Carl & Lenore Jones, L. T. Juhos, 

Bruce & Adair Kelly, Ron Kirby, Ron & Maralee 

Knowlen, Laurie Lane, Daniel Laskin, Janie 

Leifhelm, Michael Lennon, Jean Long, Mr. V. H. 

Lytton, William Mahoney, Greg Makin, Matt & 

Judith Malerich, Bunkie & Jeff Mangum, Steve 

Manick, Susan Margolis, Rose Marinaro, Mr. & 

Mrs. Gordon Marks, Robert Martin, Wilbert & 

Kathleen Mason, Mr. & Mrs. Matlack, E. Mazer, 

Patricia & Ashley McDermott, Renee McGuire, 

Greg McNab, Karen A. Moneta, Suzanne & Jerry 

Murphy, John & Nancy Naumann, Deborah & 

Tad Nitasaka, Frank Noey, Rosie Pepito & Marc 

Burt, Sydney Peterson, Jim Phillips, Modesto 

Piazza, Paul Pickett, Al Pillsbury, Mary Poeck, 

Susan Pynchon, Gloria & Ronald Pyszka, Janis 

L. Reh, Therese & F. Rodrigues, Brian Roppe 

& Kristin Ferguson, Barbara Sacks, Antonia 

Salzman, La Myrl B. Sandholtz, Sara Self, John 

& Karen Sivley, Betty Jo & Philip Sorensen, 

Charles Thometz, Kim & Tim Thurgate, Linda 

Trowbridge, Rhonda Read Turner, David Walker, 

Susan M. Walters, Mark Warmerdam, Ron & M. 

A. Webster, Jereld & Carol Moen Wing, David & 

Martha Zimmerman 

International Members 

Marc Brignon, Dr. Kathleen Ferguson, Richard 

Lloyd 

ANNUAL CAMPAIGN DONATIONS 

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the donors who 

have recently responded to our 2008 goal to raise 

$160,000 to help us deliver the many educational 

programs and services that promote stewardship 

of Yosemite National Park. Our success depends 

on you! 

$1,000 or more 

Thomas J. Alexander, Dr. & Mrs. D. Decristofaro, 

Dan & Suzanne Jensen, Kathy Peterson, Lenore & 

Michael Roberts, Jeannie Tasker, Peter & Virginia 

Van Kuran, Edward Voss 

$250 to $999 

Steve Biddle, Elizabeth Bramsen, Nathaniel & 

Gloryanne Bryant, Suzanne & Bruce Crocker, 

Bryant & Judith Danner, Sue DeFranco, Richard 

DeGraffenreid, Donna Leaman & Wayne 

Jackson, Donna Lehnhoff & G. Campbell, Carol 

Luksemburg, Lynn MacDonald, L. Maynard Moe, 

Gloria Newhouse & Family, Ronald Nichols, Bev 

Phillips, David L. Runyan, Marilyn Smith, Anita 

Staubach & Gary Vogt, Robert F. Sullivan, James 

F. Wagner, Mary & Robert Wasik, Bill Wissel, Zad 

Fashion Inc. 

$100 to $249 

Elaine Alexander, David Astrachan, Donna & 

Paul Balle, Paul Barnhart, Stephen J. Barnhart, 

Cherie Beavon, Robert N. Beck, Carolyn Ben, 

Linda B. Bender, Ronald & Ann Berg, Bob 

Bickers, Geoff & Shelley Brosseau, Barbara 

Chasteen, ChevronTexaco Matching Gift 

Program, Victoria Collier, Robert L. Coon, Philip 

Curtis, Dr. & Mrs. Ron Dalzell, Sylvia Darr & 

Terri Elkin, Conrad A. Diethelm, Mark Dowling, 

Dave & Jane Dunatchik, Charles Dyke, Judy 

& Greg Ervice, Joe & Lorraine Ferrall, Pamela 

D. Flynn, David Ford, Gary Fowler, George 

Gentry, Marshall & Linda Glenn, Neil Glick, 

Seth Goldsmith, Richard & Eileen Grindeland, 

Jeffrey Gwin, Jack & Carol Harris, Wayne & 

Jo Anne Herman, Ted & Katherine Hoesman, 

Nancy Hoff, Gary Holland, Michael & Vivian 

Hurley, Anthony Janelli, Alex & Ruth Janke, Jon 

A. Johnsen & Doris Lopez, H. Johnson Hanerfeld 

& E. Hanerfeld, William & Nancy Jones, Lorraine 

Jorgenson, Ron Kellog, Ilona Kupecz, Carol Ann 

Lane, John Larsen, Mary Kay Lenz, Ann Macleod, 

Les Mann, Kirk & Jane Mcallister, Kenneth H. & 

Doris McClain, Kay McNamara, Carol Mertens, 

Marjorie Minney, Russell Morimoto, Dwight 

Navis, Newman Nelson, Bonnie Nishkian-Clark, 

Jeanette Perlman, Jacquelin Perry, Jack Phinney, 

Jerry E. Prochazka, James Raveret & Paula Cresci, 

Mr. & Mrs. Donald Ray, Jim Rodondi, Donald 

L. Schaafsma, Elizabeth L. Schultz, Brenda 

& Warren Seek, Barry Shaffer, Robert Shirai, 

Mervyn & Marian Singer, Nancy Small, Dr. & 

Mrs. P. Stedman, William Teufel, Harry Turner, 

Rhonda Read Turner, Paul & Dee Warenycia, 

Leslie Wichmann, Chris & Teri Wills, Janice 

Wimberly, Mrs. A. Witter, Nancy J. Wong, Daniel 

Zimmerlin, Frederick & Sandra Zoerner 

Up to $99 

Gay Abarbanell, Marie & Raymond Alberti, 

Wayne Anthony, Deborah Aracic, Don & Jean 

Arndt, Autodesk, Inc., G. Badger & B. Beerstein, 

Bob Baer, Janet & Tom Baillie, Peter & Sherry 

Barba, Martha Barnett, Alan & Janet Baumann, 

Richard & Jane Baxter, Alan Bellon & Lory Lance, 

R. Gordon Billhardt, Barbara L. Boucke, Richard 

Briscoe, Christa Burgoyne, Kenneth & Pam 

Byrum, The Campbells, Marvin Carlberg, Joan 

& Wes Carter, Ted Clair, Jodie Crandell, Barbara 

Creighton, William Davis, Dan Dugan, Melvyn 

Dutton, Francine Falk-Allen & Richard Falk, 

Leslie Freudenheim, Arthur & Jean Goff, Murray 

& Esther Goldstein, Mary-Catherine Haug & 

Daughters, Myrle Hillback, Carroll & John 

Hirsch, Arch Horst, David & Pat Humphrey, 

Beth Huning, Steve Iglehart, Rick Jali, Kathy 

Jo, Sandra Kadonada, Ruth Kamena, Audrey 

Kass, R. Kelly & B. Rodgers, Caroline Klund, 

Jeffrey Korst, Evelyn Lundstrom, Keith Marks, 

Noreen & Jacob Mazelis, Elizabeth McDonald 

& E. Hall, Patricia Melniker, Alvin Milder, 

Martha Miller, Mary Mullen, Doris Neuberger, 

Rolf & Barbara Norby, Audrey Ohlson-Smith, 

Carey Olson, Ken Ostrom, Linda K. Persson & 

Jim Little, Jim Phillips, Leslie F. Piskitel, Nancy 

& Larry Pollard, David & Kathy Poteet, Carol 

Reed, Douglas Richter, Don Ridgway & Pat 

Powers, Katie Rogers, Naomi Rosen, Howard 

Schultz, Rosanne Seratti, Gilbert Sherwood, 

Ira Siegel, Edith Simonson, I.O. & Shirley 

Skaredoff, Tamara Skaredoff, Gabrielle Stocker, 

Ron Stovitz & Danell Zeavin, Cynthia Swanson, 

Julie Tilton, Garth Tissol, Cynthia Ulman, Tom 

& Terrie Wallace, Kathy & Jon Weiner, Wayne & 

Catherine Welcome, Kenneth Wertemberg, Janet 

Westbrook, Bobbe Williams, Norman Wolff, 

Robert Woods, Gilbert & Barbara Wynn 

RECENT GENERAL DONATIONS 

We thank the following generous donors for their 

gifts, which will allow us to continue to offer 

our vital educational programs and services in 

Yosemite. 

$1,000 or more 

Gerald & Janet Barton, DNC P&R at Yosemite, 

Inc., Christy & Charles Holloway, David 

McGinness, Gabrielle S. & Ken J. Moeller, 

Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., Joan & George 

Parker, Lenore & Michael Roberts, Steve & Terri 

Saxton, Clint & Marilyn Smith, William & Janice 

Terry, WellPoint Associate Giving Campaign 

$250 to $999 

Pam Bradshaw, Ben Cordsen, Phoebe Farnam, 

Greg Ferguson, John & Carol Garand, Sara 

Harrington, Richard & Sandra Hitchcock, Jim 

May, Ginger Moorhouse, Jennifer & Darryl Ott, 

Sierra Club - Loma Prieta Chapter, Pete & Joan 

Ulyatt, Linda Woodcock 

$100 to $249 

Diane C. Anand, Graham Brent, Clouds Rest 

Cabin, John Curlo, Andrea Drugay, Bill & Marion 

Eggers, Alice Frost, Harrison Gill & Michael 

L. Ruth, Susan & Buzz Gorsky, Alfred Hodder, 

David Hough, Joe Howard & Wes Halbruner, 

Linda & Kent Kaiser, Eric & Kathy Keerbs, 

Marvin & Irene Kleinberg, Derrick & Louise Lue, 

Laura Lund & K. Palachuk, James Murray, Max 

Ritsema, Mary Robinson, Alan B. & Ruth W. 

Scott, Troy Scrapchansky & H. Milbury, Esther 

& Marvin Smith, Kimberly Stallard, Sunset Inn, 

Cynthia Sward, Dr. Chuck & Marian Woessner, 

Les Wright 

Up to $99 

Dave & Judie Andersen, anonymous, Lee 

Aydelotte, Robert Bacon & Karen Hailpern, Bank 

of America Foundation, Allan Bazzoli, Sophie 

Belsby, Cookie Billups, Linda Bishop, William 

Blonkowski, Hazel Bourdet, Mary Brayton, 

Greg & Louise Bridges, Elizabeth Brown, 

Don Brubaker, Donald Bruce, Robert & Janet 

Canning, Steve & Linda Cederborg, Don & Judy 

Chatfield, Virginia Cheney, William Chisum, Jack 

Christensen, Jennifer Clark, Solomon Cohen, 

Steve & Carolyn Conner, William Cusick, Anita 

Davis, Katherine Dollard, Coni Donnelly, Mr. 

& Mrs. Ronald Douglass, Jerry Dunlap, Judith 

Dunn Family, Shirley Duysen, Gregg Dye, Doris 

Ebert, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians & 

Western Art, Frances Elgan, Donald Emmrich, 

Avi Engel, Donna Engleman & Alicia Taylor, 

David Escarzega, Timothy Evans, Joyce Faber, 

Patty Farley, Karol & David Field, Berry Foran, 

Michael Gannon, Cliff & Mary Lou Gardner, 

Bill Gardner, William Gawlik, Pat Gentry, 

Gerhard Georgi, Maggi Georgi, Greater Good, 

Robert Greenamyer, Russell Greer, Lyn Haber, 


James Harris, Lorraine Hern, Joyce Hiller, John 

Holloway & Elaine Reed, James Horstman, 

Julian & Patricia Hultgren, Alton Isom, Joan & 

Kevin Jackson, Jon A. Johnsen & Doris Lopez, 

Harvey Johnson, Al & Nancy Johnston, Ann F. & 

John Kadyk, Leonard Kaplan, Douglas Karlson, 

Keith Kawamoto, Gerald Kennedy, Kathleen M. 

Kennedy, David King, Walter & Elisabeth Knauff, 

Jay L. Lederman, David Lehmann, Charlotte 

Lerchenmuller, Craig and Jean Leventon, Brenna 

Lissoway, Gene Lyons, Joanne Mandel, Hedwig 

E. Martin, Karen McCaffrey, Carol McCarthy, 

Nancy & Ray McHugh, Diane Melendez, Harry 

Metzger, Joseph & Madeline Mixer, Suzanne & 

Jerry Murphy, Victor Musallam, Joann & Sterling 

Myers, Gene Nakajima & Howard Rubin, Elaine 

J. Olson, J. Ovenden, Larry Patten, Al Pillsbury, 

John Reger, REI, David Rhodes, Douglas Richter, 

Bill Roberts, Ron Robillard, Jan & Ted Rosshirt, 

Sandy Ruxton & Donald Ruxton, John H. & 

Penny Savard, Richard & Ann Schindler, Gertrud 

Schleiger, Steve & Theresa Shane, John Sherman, 

Pat Showalter, Michelle Sooy, Betty Jo & Philip 

Sorensen, Jeanne & Jerry Southwood, Walter St. 

Goar, Stay Near Yosemite.com, John Stubblefield, 

Katherine Taylor, Sandra Tonstad, Barbara 

Ulman, Kathleen S. Uno, Robert Van Horne, 

Helen Vanvranken, Brandon Wade, Rod & Rena 

Webster, Mary Webster, Gregory West, Lawrence 

Westfall, Marion Wilbur, Phyllis Wilson & Ed 

Heithaus, Jonathan Wise, Ed & Carolyn Wood, 

Joyce & Bill Woodard, Charles C. Worth, Petrilla 

Wright & Thomas Babcock, Irwin D. Zim 

For the Archives Fund: Brenna Lissoway, Brandon 

Wade 

For the Cooperative Work Weeks Program: Clouds 

Rest Cabin 

For the Heritage Publication Fund: Lenore and 

Michael Roberts 

For the Yosemite Leadership Program (formerly 

known as Cooperative Student Intern Program): 

Morgan Stanley and Co., Inc. 

For the Museum Preservation Fund: Eiteljorg 

Museum of American Indians & Western Art 

Vehicle Donations: Peter Arango, Katheryn Chen, 

Arthur Fisher, Alex Geler, Mary Bell and Robert 

Weiner, Deborah Wolfe 

TRIBUTE GIFTS 

We extend our gratitude to the donors who have 

recently made gifts to the Association to mark a 

loved one’s passing or honor a special friend or 

occasion. These contributions are a thoughtful way 

to ensure that others will enjoy the beauty and solace 

of Yosemite for years to come. 

In honor of Justin Batcheller: Derrick & Louise 

Lue 

In honor of Robert Bruner Jr.: John Curlo 

In honor of David Crawford: Derrick & Louise Lue 

In honor of Mike Danese: Derrick & Louise Lue 

In honor of Luke Eisenberg: Derrick & Louise Lue 

In honor of John & Jeani Ferrari: Alfred A. Hodder 

In honor of Parker Grant: Derrick & Louise Lue 

In honor of James Luckenbach: Derrick & Louise 

Lue 

In honor of Tyson Moore: Derrick & Louise Lue 

In honor of Evan Peters: Derrick & Louise Lue 

In honor of Colby Pines: Derrick & Louise Lue 

In honor of Karl Rasmussen: Derrick & Louise Lue 

In honor of Weston Thornburg: Derrick & Louise 

Lue 

In memory of Francis Batenick: Doris Ebert 

In memory of Robert Bruner: Victor Musallam 

In memory of Joseph Drugay: Andrea Drugay 

In memory of Cecelia Flickinger: Cliff & Mary Lou 

Gardner 

In memory of Carlo Flores: Robert Van Horne 

In memory of Phil Frank: Ben Cordsen 

In memory of Ginny Gibbons: Cynthia Sward 

In memory of Haakon & Susan Greena: Newman 

Nelson 

In memory of Warren Hogan: Doris Ebert 

In memory of John G. Kamena: Ruth Kamena 

In memory of Ruth Nancy Nerney: John Larsen 

In memory of Kathie Orr: Bill & Marion Eggers 

In memory of Luella Parola: Craig & Jean 

Leventon 

In memory of Jane Trabucco Rust: Dr. Chuck & 

Marian Woessner 

In memory of Randy Rust: Mary Robinson 

In memory of Dean & Helen Witter: Mrs. A. 

Witter 

Get your Bracebridge 

Dinner Raffle Tickets! 

Enter our raffle to win two seats for 

the 2008 Bracebridge Dinner and a 

one-night stay at Yosemite Lodge at the 

Falls, and you’ll help us help Yosemite 

at the same time! Tickets are on sale 

now for $10 each. All raffle proceeds 

help fund the Association’s vital programs 

and services. You can order by 

mail using the envelope enclosed with 

this journal, or by calling the Yosemite 

Association Membership department 

at 209-379-2317. The winner will be 

drawn at the Annual Fall Members’ 

Meeting in Wawona September 6, 

2008. You need not be present to win. 

We thank DNC Parks & Resorts at 

Yosemite for generously donating this 

raffle prize package, valued at $951. 

Tickets will be on sale through the 

summer months, but don’t wait, get 

yours now! 

You Can Help Yosemite 

in So Many Ways 

Your dues and donations make possible 

vital educational programs and services 

in Yosemite. Did you know there are 

even more ways you can make a real 

difference We invite you to consider 

these other giving mechanisms. For 

more information, visit our website at 

yosemite.org/helpus/donations.html 

or call the Member Information phone 

line at 209-379-2317. 

• Double Your Contribution 

Enclose your employer’s matching gift 

form with your member dues or donations, 

and we’ll take care of the rest. 

• Donate Your Car, Boat, or RV 

Visit Donationline.com or call 

Donation Line toll-free at 

877-227-7487, ext. 1967. 

• Use GoodSearch 

GoodSearch.com is an Internet search 

engine that gives 50% of its revenue to 

the charity you designate, at no cost to 

you or us. Choose YA when you search 

the web! 

• Leave a Legacy 

Make a bequest to YA in your will or 

estate plan, or designate YA as a beneficiary 

of your life insurance policy 

or IRA. 

• Donate from Your IRA 

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 

allows individuals over 70½ years old 

to transfer all or a portion of an IRA to 

YA and not have that money count as 

income for the year of the donation. 

• Shop and Learn with YA 

Shop at YA stores and our Internet 

store, or take an Outdoor Adventure. 

Proceeds from all YA programs and 

services benefit Yosemite! 

The Yosemite Association is a 501(c)(3) 

non-profit corporation (Federal ID 

No. 94-6050143). Donations are taxdeductible 

to the extent allowable by law. 


27

Yosemite Association 

Post Office Box 230 

El Portal, CA 95318 

Non-profit Organization 

U.S. POSTAGE PAID 

YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION 

Return Service Requested 

Join the Yosemite Association 

The Yosemite Association initiates and supports 

interpretive, educational, research, scientific, and 

environmental programs in Yosemite National 

Park, in cooperation with the National Park 

Service. Authorized by Congress, the Association 

provides services and direct financial support in 

order to promote park stewardship and enrich the 

visitor experience. 

Besides publishing and selling books, maps, 

and other materials, YA operates an outdoor 

adventure program, the Yosemite Art and 

Education Center, the bear canister rental program 

and the Wilderness Permit Reservation system. 

Revenues generated by these activities fund 

a variety of National Park Service programs in 

Yosemite. 

You can help us be successful by becoming a 

member. Individuals, families and businesses 

throughout the country have long supported the 

Yosemite Association with their dues and participation 

in our programs. 

Won’t you join us in our efforts to make 

MOVING 

If you are moving or have recently moved, don’t forget 

to notify us. You are a valued member of the Association, 

and we’d like to keep in touch with you. 

MEMBER BENEFITS 

As a member of the Yosemite Association, you will enjoy: 

• Yosemite, the quarterly Association journal; 

• 15% discount on Association books, merchandise, Outdoor 

Adventure tuition and Ostrander Ski Hut; 

• Discounts on lodging, shopping and activities in and 

around the park, including The Ansel Adams Gallery; 

• Opportunities to attend member events and to volunteer in 

the park; 

• Knowing that your support helps us make a real difference 

in Yosemite National Park. 

Members at the following higher levels will also receive: 

Family/Supporting: America’s Best Idea, a visual tour of 

America’s favorite natural and cultural places. 

Contributing: Obata’s Yosemite, featuring full-color reproductions 

of Chiura Obata’s sumi-e ink paintings, watercolors 

and woodblock prints along with illuminating essays. 

Half Dome: Yosemite—Art of an American Icon, a companion 

to the landmark museum exhibit, plus invitations to special 

gatherings. 

Clouds Rest: Kolbrener’s Yosemite, the stunning photography 

of Ansel Adams’ student Bob Kolbrener, a one-year Yosemite 

National Park pass and invitations to special gatherings. 

El Capitan: “Half Dome from Glacier Point,” a matted Ansel 

Adams Special Edition Photograph, a one-year Yosemite 

National Park pass and invitations to special gatherings, 

including an elegant fall dinner on Ahwahnee Meadow. 

Mount Lyell: A first edition of An Illustrated Flora of Yosemite 

National Park, a one-year Yosemite National Park pass, invitations 

to special gatherings, including an elegant fall dinner 

on Ahwahnee Meadow, and a small gathering with the Park 

Superintendent, YA Board Chair and YA CEO. 

YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION 

Board of Trustees 

Christina A. Holloway, 

Chair 

Suzanne Corkins, 

Vice Chair 

Barbara Boucke, 

Treasurer 

Keith E. Alley 

Bradley Anderholm 

Rod A. Attebery 

Thomas E. Bowman 

Gabriella “Nené” 

Casares 

Kathy Fairbanks 

Gerald Haslam 

Arnita Multani Proffitt 

Angie Rios 

Lennie Roberts 

Gina Tan 

Phyllis Weber 

Dan Jensen, Ex officio 

Malcolm Margolin, 

Ex officio 

Thomas J. Shephard, 

Trustee Emeritus 

Chris Stein, 

NPS Representative 

Mike Tollefson, 

NPS Representative 

Staff 

David J. Guy, Chief Executive Officer 

Michelle Hansen, Retail Director 

Laurel Rematore, Membership & Development Director 

Melinda Ainslie, Sales Station Assistant 

Tom Arfsten, Sales Station Supervisor 

Laura Beardsley, Volunteer & Membership Coordinator 

Nicole Brocchini, Sales Station Coordinator 

Pete Devine, Education Coordinator 

Joanie Cordes, Membership & Development Coordinator 

Carolyn King, Administrative Coordinator 

Todd King, Retail Operations Manager 

Holly Kuehn, Sales Administrative Coordinator 

Richard Lang, Bookrack Assistant 

Sallee Lang, Bookrack Assistant 

Sharron Law, Cashier Supervisor 

Denise Ludington, Cashier Assistant 

Shelly Stephens, Purchasing Coordinator 

Corrie Stetzel, Registrar & Membership Coordinator 

$35 Individual Member 

$60 Family/Supporting Member 

$135 Contributing Member 

$250 Half Dome 

$500 Clouds Rest 

$1,000 El Capitan 

$2,500 Mount Lyell 

$50 International Member 

is published quarterly for members of the Yosemite Association. It is edited by Kathleen M. Wong and produced by Robin Weiss Graphic Design. 

Copyright © 2008 Yosemite Association. Submission of manuscripts, photographs, and other materials is welcomed. E-mail can be sent to: info@yosemite.org 

Website: yosemite.org Inset photo of the Glen Aulin cascade by John Sensor. Printed on recycled paper using soy-based inks. 

Please enroll me in the Yosemite Association as a . . . 

Mr. Ms. Mrs. Other 

Name (please print): 

Address: 

City: 

Daytime phone number: 

Enclosed is a check for: 

Or charge credit card #: 

State/Zip: 

E-mail address: 

expires: 

Mail to: Yosemite Association, PO Box 230, El Portal, CA 95318 209/379-2646

Spring 2008 - Yosemite Conservancy

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